How viruses multiply and spread

A new study has shed light on how viruses use human cells in order to multiply and spread, which involves interacting with cellular host factors as well as virus-virus interactions.

According to the study, viral proteins are essential for the assembly of newly produced infectious virions.

Scientists at the Institute of Virology at the Helmholtz Zentrum have discovered how these proteins interact with one another and thus regulate important stages in the viral replication cycle.

Professor Michael Schindler said that their results show how viral proteins interact within human cells, which provides a basis for identifying new antiviral substances. We propose by specifically targeting virus-virus interactions to find drugs with low cellular toxicity.

Schindle said that since their method can be applied in an interdisciplinary manner, they are also aiming to elucidate the networks of other human pathogenic viruses, like in hepatitis B virus (HBV) or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).