Researchers from Oxford University have worked out the molecular structure of a protein that is vital for survival of the flu virus. Recently published in Nature, they used several different techniques to look at the arrangement of atoms within a protein that the human flu virus uses to make new copies of its genetic information. Without this multifunctional protein, known as a polymerase, the flu virus cannot survive. A key finding of the study is that the polymerase can exist in two forms, a monomer and a dimer. It is only when the polymerase dimerises that specific functions are switched on. The research team saw the dimeric form of the polymerase was formed by a specific region of protein and when the region was disrupted, the polymerase couldn’t work. This finding presents a brand-new way of potentially inhibiting the flu virus which means we could develop new drugs and flu treatments in the future.
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Source: Phys.org