IIT-Mandi team decodes ‘dark proteins’ of chikungunya virus : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

IIT-Mandi team decodes ‘dark proteins’ of chikungunya virus

SHIMLA: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Mandi have identified the ‘dark’ regions in the proteins of chikungunya virus, an advance that could help design improved drugs to treat the disease.

IIT-Mandi team decodes ‘dark proteins’ of chikungunya virus


Shimla, November 14

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Mandi have identified the ‘dark’ regions in the proteins of chikungunya virus, an advance that could help design improved drugs to treat the disease.

The dark proteome is defined as proteins with structures that cannot be determined by conventional methods, such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy.

Unlike conventional proteins, the dark proteome are unable to fold spontaneously into single, well-defined 3D structures, making it difficult for scientists to understand their properties.

The research, led by Rajanish Giri, assistant professor at IIT-Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, is aimed at understanding the structure and action of the virus through computational studies.

Collaborating with Vladimir Uversky from the University of South Florida, the research, published in the journal ‘RSC Advances’ identified the molecular recognition features of the virus (MoRF).

“The pathogenic mechanism of mosquito-borne chikungunya is not fully understood as yet because of the scarcity of information about the structure and non-structure of the viral proteins,” said Giri.

“Our research seeks to fill this gap in knowledge,” he said.The team used multiple computational tools to identify the MoRFs in the proteins of the chikungunya virus. They found that all chikungunya virus proteins have at least one MoRF crucial for signalling events during survival and pathogenesis of the virus.

Researchers hope that once all molecular mechanisms of the virus proteins are deciphered and protein-protein interactions are understood, there would be a better path towards the design of specific drug molecules that can act against this virus.

The WHO reports that more than 1.5 million deaths worldwide are caused by viral infections every year, say researchers.

Given that there were 3,20,000 mammalian viruses that could potentially infect human beings, their hope of preventing and treating virus-borne diseases hinged on rigorous research enterprise, they said. —PTI

Top News

'When government changes...': Rahul Gandhi after Rs 1,800 crore fresh I-T notice to Congress

'When government changes...': Rahul Gandhi after Rs 1,800 crore fresh I-T notice to Congress

The Congress leader accuses the BJP of indulging in ‘tax ter...

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death, seeks report in a month

Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that his brother...

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

22 educational institutions were on CBI radar in the scholar...


Cities

View All