A recent discovery could lead to medicines that protect against the dangerous Zika virus currently raging across portions of North and South America. Researchers have found a protein (a type of molecule) that can stop the mosquito-borne virus from infecting human cells.
So far Zika has spread to 60 countries and territories. Over the summer, the disease spread to parts of Florida, too. Most infected people have few, if any, symptoms, but the virus has been linked to serious birth defects. Scientists are racing to stop it.
Physician Abraham Brass and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester have discovered a protein present in nearly all human cells that blocks Zika and other viruses from entering. “It’s like a guard defending the cell,” says Brass. His team is now looking for therapies that would boost levels of the protein in humans to prevent infections.
In unrelated research, scientists announced in June that two test vaccines prevented Zika infection in mice. Vaccines prompt the body to make proteins that attack the virus. Researchers are beginning to test the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines in people—a process that could take years.