Cleveland Clinic Researchers Unravel A Unique Enzymatic Activity Of An Animal Virus

Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered a new biochemical pathway that is essential for the reproduction of the animal virus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a virus belonging to the family that causes rabies, measles, Marburg Disease, and Ebola, and many others.



Amiya K. Banerjee, Ph.D., Section Head of Virology in Cleveland Clinic's Department of Molecular Genetics, and Research Associate Tomoaki Ogino, Ph.D., have found that messenger RNA (mRNA) "capping", a vital reaction that guards against degradation and facilitates efficient translation of cellular messenger mRNA into proteins, is distinctly different for VSV mRNAs. This unconventional capping activity of VSV may serve as a basis for developing therapies to shut down VSV replication specifically without disrupting the capping reaction of cellular mRNAs.



"Finding small molecules that can disrupt VSV mRNA capping activity could lead to discovery of antivirals not only against VSV but other viruses belonging to this class of viruses that are highly pathogenic," Dr. Banerjee said.



Dr. Banerjee's research appeared in the Jan. 12 issue of Molecular Cell
(molecule).



About Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute


The Lerner Research Institute is home to all laboratory-based research at the Cleveland Clinic. Its mission is to understand the causes of human diseases and to develop new treatments and cures. The Lerner Research Institute is ranked among the top 10 in NIH funding among all U.S. research institutes for 2005. More than 1,100 people work in research programs focusing on cardiovascular, cancer, neurologic, musculoskeletal, allergic and immunologic, eye, metabolic, and infectious disease. The Institute also is an integral part of the new Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University - training the next generation of physician-scientists.



About Cleveland Clinic


Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Approximately 1,500 full-time salaried physicians at Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2005, there were 2.9 million outpatient visits to Cleveland Clinic. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 80 countries. There were nearly 54,000 hospital admissions to Cleveland Clinic in 2005.

Cleveland Clinic's Web site address is clevelandclinic.