For the first time, researchers have deciphered the structure of a key part of the virus.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 70 million people each year and kills about 400,000 people. Inverse writes that the virus causes a chronic infection of the liver, and in more severe cases can lead to scarring of liver tissue and even cancer.
Treatments for HCV infections already exist, but they are difficult to obtain, expensive, and do not protect against re-infection. A hepatitis C vaccine could greatly improve the situation, but the problem is that scientists have not been able to identify an antigen or part of the virus that could trigger a protective immune response in the body.
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Decades of research show that there is only one protein (HCV E1E2) on the surface of the virus that can claim to be a vaccine candidate. However, its development was complicated by the inability of scientists to decipher the structure of this protein. But everything seems to have changed.
In a new study, Scripps Research Institute microscopy and vaccine scientists Lisa Ashun-Wilson and Alba Torrents de la Peña were able to visualize the molecular structures of this elusive protein using new technology. As a result, they were able to understand how the virus works, which brought researchers one step closer to developing a hepatitis C vaccine.
The main problem was that HCV E1E2 was very flexible and brittle – it often deforms and breaks easily, so it is very difficult to clean. Until recently, researchers faced technological hurdles; scientists needed a way to isolate, purify, stabilize, and capture an entire shape-shifting protein in a single configuration. The task is not easy.
During the study, the scientists turned to the cryoelectron microscope (cryo-EM). This type of imaging technique allows water to be frozen quickly without crystallization – as a result, the researchers obtained the necessary protein enclosed in a glass frame. This method allowed the researchers to study the protein and consider every structural detail.
The scientists inserted the genetic code to create HCV E1E2 in human cells so they had enough protein for study. After cleaning and then immersion in liquid ethane to quickly freeze the protein, and then in liquid nitrogen to prevent structural damage.
Once the protein was placed in a “glass” ice frame, the researchers were able to image its overall structure and capture its individual configurations as it changed shape. including its less stable forms.
The scientists then used a microscope using a focused, high-energy electron beam and a camera to determine how electrons were bouncing off the protein’s surface. As a result, the researchers obtained a 2D image, which they then converted into a 3D model – that is, they actually got a “close-up” of the HCV surface protein.
The researchers then produced a three-dimensional map of the protein, arranging and examining each amino acid and its building blocks. As a result, the scientists were able not only to obtain a 3D map and model of the HCV E1E2 protein, but also to learn more about its functions, which will later aid in the development of a hepatitis C vaccine.
Previously Focus He wrote that scientists have discovered the causes of Alzheimer’s disease – the threat is hidden in the mouth.
Source: Focus
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