Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia
Advertisement

Deadlier Than Ebola: How Sudan Virus Hijacks Human Cells

by Adeline Dorcas on Feb 6 2025 11:22 AM
Listen to this article
0:00/0:00

The Sudan Virus is a deadly mystery with no cure—until now.

Deadlier Than Ebola: How Sudan Virus Hijacks Human Cells
Is the Sudan virus deadlier than Ebola? A key discovery explains how it clings to human cells.
The findings of the study are published in the journal Communications Biology (1 Trusted Source
Cryo-EM structure of Sudan ebolavirus glycoprotein complexed with its human endosomal receptor NPC1

Go to source
).


Advertisement

Sudan Virus Disease: The Deadly Outbreak You Shouldn't Ignore

The Sudan virus, a close relative of Ebola, has a 50% fatality rate, but its mechanisms of cell infection remain poorly understood. Currently, there are no approved treatments for the Sudan virus. To improve pandemic preparedness, researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center studied how the virus attaches to human cells.


Advertisement

How the Sudan Virus Binds to Human Cells

Like Ebola, the Sudan virus enters cells by binding to NPC1, a protein responsible for cholesterol transport. Using cryo-electron microscopy, the researchers mapped how the Sudan virus interacts with the human NPC1 receptor. Their findings revealed that four key amino acid differences in the receptor-binding proteins of Sudan and Ebola viruses enable the Sudan virus to bind to human NPC1 with nine times greater affinity than Ebola, which may contribute to its high fatality rate.


Sudan Virus vs. Ebola: The Deadly Battle of Filoviruses

Building on this discovery, the team predicted the receptor-binding affinities of three other filoviruses closely related to Sudan and Ebola. They also examined how the Sudan virus binds to NPC1 receptors in bats, which are believed to be natural hosts of filoviruses.

These findings provide crucial insights into the infection mechanisms and evolutionary origins of Sudan virus and related filoviruses, paving the way for potential treatments.

Reference:
  1. Cryo-EM structure of Sudan ebolavirus glycoprotein complexed with its human endosomal receptor NPC1 - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-07613-y)

Source-Eurekalert



Home

Consult

e-Book

Articles

News

Calculators

Drugs

Directories

Education

Consumer

Professional