12 hours ago
The shocking speed at which cold sore virus hijacks human DNA
A new study is the first to prove that the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) deliberately reshapes the human genome and reorganises infected cells within an hour of infection.
The virus compacts and densifies human DNA to access host genes essential for its reproduction, a previously unknown mechanism of manipulation.
Researchers discovered that blocking a single host cell enzyme, topoisomerase I, completely prevented the virus from rearranging the human genome and stopped infection in cell culture.
This finding offers a potential new therapeutic target to control HSV-1, which affects nearly four billion people worldwide.
HSV-1, while often causing benign cold sores, can lead to severe complications in rare cases and has been linked to dementia in older adults.
