DrugNewsWire

Scientists are on their way to a new prescription drug discovery that might help fight bird flu. The drug might also be beneficial for treating other strains of flu as well.

Researchers have managed to figure out the structure of the influenza A virus that is similar to the proteins in the virus expected to be in the bird flu virus. This protein is what suppresses a person’s defenses and makes them vulnerable to additional illnesses. Including virulent ones like the upcoming Bird Flu. The Bird Flu is classified as an influenza A just like the other “plague viruses” that came before it including the virus that characterized the pandemic flu in 1918.

These researchers have discovered how to prevent this protein found in A type flu viruses from binding to human cells and thereby preventing infection completely. Once bound to NS1 the human protein can no longer generate molecules needed to suppress flu virus replication. The drug will, in a sense be able to locate the Achilles heel of the infection and combat it completely.

The discovery of this protein and how it could be used to create a new drug appears in PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Early Edition and will be published in an upcoming issue of the PNAS print edition.

This project was supported by two different institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As in many other countries these two studies are complimenting each other. Support for the research was provided by the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) of the NIH Institute of General Medical Sciences

These studies are also part of follow-on to the human genome project, which is providing large numbers of protein samples and three-dimensional structures of biologically important proteins to the broad scientific community so they can do valuable research with regards to fighting plague type viruses and potential pandemics.