A team of scientists has described how the Andes hantavirus, found in parts of Chile and Argentina, attaches to human cells to start an infection, according to BioBioChile. The finding reveals a structural "weak point" in the virus that could be used to design treatments.
The key lies in the spike, the protein on the viral surface that acts as an entry key. The researchers determined that this protein needs a complete square structure to capture the PCDH1 receptor, a specific protein on the surface of human cells.
The work also explains how the virus evades natural antibodies. The spike has a deep cavity that blocks the body's defenses from reaching the area where it binds to the receptor.
"Eight years ago, we discovered that the Andes hantavirus infects human cells through a specific protein on the cell surface, called a receptor, but we could not understand exactly how the virus recognized it," explained Kartik Chandran, who holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology and is a professor at the Albert Einstein College, a United States institution. According to the researcher, the study shows a new way in which a virus can capture its receptor.
To observe the structure in great detail, the team used cryo-electron microscopy, a technique that freezes biological samples and makes it possible to see molecules at near-atomic level. A structure designed with artificial intelligence helped keep the square spike intact in a test tube.
This is basic research. The finding opens a possible path toward developing therapies or antivirals, but the BioBioChile report does not mention any drugs in testing or timelines for when they might exist. Nor does it specify which journal published the study.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses transmitted mainly by rodents. People are infected mostly by inhaling airborne viral particles from the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents. They can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory disease that can quickly lead to respiratory failure.
Of the more than twenty known hantaviruses that affect humans, the Andes virus is the only one transmitted from person to person, generally through close and prolonged contact. That trait makes it especially relevant for public health in the south of the continent.
The virus returned to international attention last April, when an outbreak was detected aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. Three people died and around ten were infected, according to the same outlet.
