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Core architecture of smallpox viruses decoded

Smallpox viruses

Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) Klosterneuburg have succeeded in deciphering the core architecture of smallpox viruses. The results could be useful for research into new drugs.

Little was previously known about the structure of the smallpox virus core. This prompted a team of researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) Klosterneuburg to tackle the topic. "We know that smallpox viruses can only be infectious if their viral core is fully formed. But what does this 'poxvirus core', the common core of clinically relevant poxviruses, consist of, how are its individual components made up and how do they function?" says Florian Schur, assistant professor at ISTA and lead author of the study, describing the central question.

Protein A10

Schur and his team found the missing link in a protein called A10. All clinically relevant smallpox viruses have this protein as a central structural element and one of the main building blocks of the virus core.

Images of the virus

As part of the study, the research team modelled the structures of the most important core protein candidates using artificial intelligence on a PC and also worked with cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM, an imaging technique). "We combined many of the most advanced cryo-EM techniques available with structural modelling. This gave us for the first time a detailed overview of the smallpox virus core - the 'bioreactor' inside the virus that encloses the viral genome and releases it into infected cells," explains Schur.

Development of drugs

The researchers at ISTA Klosterneuburg recently published their findings in the journal "Nature Structural & Molecular Biology" - a scientific journal dedicated to functional and mechanistic questions in biology. They could help to advance the research and production of drugs that target the nuclei of smallpox viruses.

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Source: red, noe.ORF.at

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