Pirate viruses caught in their own trap?
In order to infect a host cell and proliferate, some viruses, such as the hepatitis C virus, infiltrate the ribosomes, the molecular machines that assemble the proteins present in each of our cells. Viral proteins are thus produced to the detriment of cellular proteins. A group of scientists in Strasbourg has demonstrated that one of the 80 components of each ribosome is essential for infection by certain viruses without being necessary for normal cell functioning. This discovery, which may result in the development of new therapeutic strategies, was made by scientists in the Laboratoire Réponse Immunitaire et Développement chez les Insectes (CNRS) and the Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (INSERM/Université de Strasbourg), with support from the ANRS, among others. It is the subject of an article published in Cell on 20 November 2014.