Ebola virus particle trapped inside a lysosome interacts with the transmembrane protein NPC1 to gain access to the rest of the cellYOUTUBE, ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
The protein Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) is typically responsible for transporting cholesterol into cells, and people with certain mutations in the gene encoding it develop a degenerative disease caused by cholesterol buildup inside lysosomes. Researchers working in the U.S. and the Netherlands previously found that Ebola and other filoviruses hijack NPC1 to enter human cells. In a study published in mBio this week (May 26), the same team reported that mice lacking NPC1 are completely resistant to Ebola infection.
“Our study reveals NPC1 to be an Achilles’ heel for Ebola virus infection,” microbiologist and study coauthor Kartik Chandran of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City said in a statement.
When Ebola first enters a host cell, it is trapped inside lysosomes. The ...
