Receptor-binding specificity of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus determined by carbohydrate microarray
Robert A Childs, Angelina S Palma, Steve Wharton, Tatyana Matrosovich, Yan Liu, Wengang Chai, Maria A Campanero-Rhodes, Yibing Zhang, Markus Eickmann, Makoto Kiso, et al.
Nature Biotechnology 27, 797-799 (September 2009) doi:10.1038/nbt0909-797 Opinion and Comment
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Swine Flu Burrows Into Lungs: Study
출처 : THURSDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090910/hl_hsn/swinefluburrowsintolungsstudy
New British research confirms previous reports that the H1N1 swine flu goes deeper into the lungs than ordinary seasonal flu, possibly explaining why it’s often more severe in some people.
“Most people infected with swine-origin flu in the current pandemic have experienced relatively mild symptoms,” Ten Feizi, a professor at Imperial College London and co-author of a study released Thursday, said in a college news release. “However, some people have had more severe lung infections, which can be worse than those caused by seasonal flu. Our new research shows how the virus does this — by attaching to receptors mostly found on cells deep in the lungs. This is something seasonal flu cannot do.”
The finding echoes that of another study, published earlier this month in PLoS Currents. That work, from University of Maryland researchers, found that H1N1 reached deeper into the lungs of ferrets when compared to seasonal flu strains.
According to the researchers behind the new study, flu viruses infect the body by attaching themselves to receptors on the outside of cells. This allows the viruses to hijack the cells and infect even more cells, a cycle that can lead to illness and death.
The new study, published Sept. 10 in the journal Nature Biotechnology, finds that swine flu attacks cells deep in the lungs, whereas seasonal flu targets cells in the nose, throat and upper airway.
The researchers suspect this may explain why swine flu can be so much more serious than seasonal flu: It may simply be able to attack more cells.
The study also found that the swine flu virus binds more weakly when it goes after cells deeper in the lungs versus cells higher up in the respiratory system. However, “if the flu virus mutates in the future, it may attach to the receptors deep inside the lungs more strongly, and this could mean that more people would experience serious symptoms. We think scientists should be on the lookout for these kinds of changes in the virus so we can try to find ways of minimizing the impact of such changes,” Feizi said.
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“신종플루 폐 깊숙이 침투”<英연구진>
출처 : 연합뉴스 2009/09/10 18:48 송고
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/international/2009/09/10/0606000000AKR20090910205200009.HTML?template=2086
(파리 AFP=연합뉴스) 인플루엔자 A[H1N1](신종플루) 바이러스는 일반 계절독감보다 폐에 더 깊숙이 침투해 증상이 심하다는 연구 결과가 나왔다.
영국 런던 임페리얼대학 연구진은 신종플루 또는 계절독감에 걸린 총 86명의 환자를 대상으로 한 임상실험 결과 계절독감 바이러스는 호흡기 상부에 머무는 데 비해 신종플루의 경우 폐 내부까지 바이러스가 발견됐다고 10일 밝혔다.
이는 신종플루 감염자가 왜 기존 독감 환자보다 심각한 증상을 보이는지 설명하는 첫 임상실험 결과다.
바이러스는 인체 침투과정에서 수용체라고 불리는 세포벽에 달라붙어 질병을 전파하는데, 다양한 기관의 세포 수용체에 침투할수록 증상이 악화된다.
계절독감 바이러스는 보통 코나 목, 기도 상단에서 발견되며 증상도 콧물, 인후통, 기침 정도다.
그러나 영국 과학전문지 ‘네이처 생명공학’에 발표한 이번 논문에 따르면 신종플루는 폐 내부 세포를 비롯해 보다 다양한 수용체에 침투할 수 있다.
연구를 이끈 텐 페이지 박사는 “신종플루 바이러스가 앞으로 돌연변이를 일으킨다면 폐 내부 수용체로 더 강력하게 침투할 수 있다”면서 “이는 지금보다 심각한 증상을 의미한다”고 우려했다.
그는 이어 “과학자들은 이 같은 바이러스 변화 양상을 관찰해 피해를 최소화할 방법을 찾아야 한다”고 덧붙였다.
hanarmdri@yna.co.kr
