Md. - Scientists have determined the structure of a key protein from a paramyxovirus. In a recent issue of Nature Structural Biology researchers described the three-dimensional structure of a protein used by paramyxoviruses to latch onto, penetrate and exit respiratory cells.
Paramyxoviruses cause several respiratory diseases in humans and animals.
One of these viruses, parainfluenza, infects almost all children before the age of 5, causing illnesses ranging from colds to pneumonia. We have no vaccines or effective drugs to stop viruses like parainfluenza. This study opens new possibilities for drug development. Each of these properties depends on the unique shape of the protein and the chemical charges distributed across its surface. Researchers have studied the design of similar proteins to develop effective drugs against other viruses, but they have been unable to grow the HN protein into the crystals required for study.