We have been at war with viruses for more than a billion years. This intensifying arms race has fine-tuned our immune systems and yielded new heights of viral trickery. Some DNA viruses are known to alter chromatin folding, suppressing immune genes such that they can infect cells more readily. But it was long unclear whether RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, perform a similar stunt, Wenbo Li, a biochemist at the University of Texas’ Health Science Center, tells The Scientist.
Now, in a study published March 23 in Nature Microbiology, Li and colleagues reveal how the virus responsible for COVID-19 remodels chromatin, the complex of DNA and proteins that makes up chromosomes. The resulting changes in gene expression may be responsible for the immune dysregulation seen in infected people and may offer clues as to why some experience prolonged symptoms.
Viruses don’t just trigger a brief spell of sickness, says Marianna Zazhytska, ...
