宾州大学研究小组的William F. DeGrado说,我们知道M2蛋白的突变,导致了对金刚烷胺抗药性的产生,但我们不知道这种突变如何产生抗药性。现在我们知道了,是因为突变改变了M2蛋白的高级结构,而导致金刚烷胺无法再阻断离子通道。
两个研究小组都希望,能够进一步研究清楚药物与M2蛋白的作用机理,以便作为新药设计的靶点。
据了解,每年死于流感的人大约有50万,流感大流行时危害更大,如1918年的西班牙打流感就夺取5千万的生命。因此,了解清楚M2蛋白的作用机理,设计出新的药物对付不断变异的流感病毒,是有重要意义的。 原始论文:
Jason R. Schnell1 & James J. Chou (2008) Structure and mechanism of the M2 proton channel of influenza A virus. Nature 451, 591-595
Amanda L. Stouffer et al. (2008) Structural basis for the function and inhibition of an influenza virus proton channel. Nature 451, 596-599 作者: rojjer 时间: 2015-8-17 13:07
ipsvirus
有关流感病毒M2离子通道激活炎性小体报告是在2010年Nature Immunology 上报道的。
Influenza virus activates inflammasomes via its intracellular M2 ion channel
Takeshi Ichinohe, Iris K Pang & Akiko Iwasaki
Influenza virus, a negative-stranded RNA virus that causes severe illness in humans and animals, stimulates the inflammasome through the Nod-like receptor NLRP3. However, the mechanism by which influenza virus activates the NLRP3 inflammasome is unknown. Here we show that the influenza virus M2 protein, a proton-selective ion channel important in viral pathogenesis, stimulates the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. M2 channel activity was required for the activation of inflammasomes by influenza and was sufficient to activate inflammasomes in primed macrophages and dendritic cells. M2-induced activation of inflammasomes required its localization to the Golgi apparatus and was dependent on the pH gradient. Our results show a mechanism by which influenza virus infection activates inflammasomes and identify the sensing of disturbances in intracellular ionic concentrations as a previously unknown pathogen-recognition pathway.