Scientists have found out how the Andean form of hantavirus enters human cells

Specialists from different countries involved in molecular biology have been able to study for the first time how viral particles of the South American strain of hantavirus (ANDV) bind to protocadherin on the membrane of human cells and through this mechanism penetrate inside.

Such data will serve as the basis for the development of drugs against hantavirus fever, said the representative of the press service of the American Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECM).

Eight years after the fact of penetration of the ANDV virus into human cells through protocadherin receptors, the researchers remained unclear about the mechanism of this process. Today, science has been able to identify patterns of interaction of the virus with the receptor during the period of infection, which creates prerequisites for the development of drugs that affect this feature of hantavirus. This was reported by Kartik Chandran, Professor of AECM, information with reference to the press service of the university.

Professor Chandran and his team believe that on Earth there is a large variety of hantaviruses, the carriers of which are different species of rodents that can occasionally penetrate into the human body. Due to the fact that no effective methods of treating hemorrhagic fever provoked by these pathogens have been found, the researchers focused on creating specific vaccines and antibodies.

A team of researchers from Chile, France and the United States has made significant progress in the fight against one of the deadliest strains of hantavirus, ANDV, which lives in the Andean mountains of South America and kills up to 40% of those infected. Earlier this year, Professor Chandran and his colleagues examined the envelope of the virus using a cryoelectron microscope, which allowed them to make a three-dimensional image with an unprecedented level of detail.

Thanks to the three-dimensional images, the researchers were able to unravel the structure of the ANDV shell region in contact with protocadherin on human cells, as well as study the nature of their interaction. The results of calculations and experiments showed that the viral membrane element is formed by four “petals” that create a deep notch for the integration of the protocadherin molecule.

Scientists explain that the specific geometry of the pocket — its considerable depth at a small width — prevents antibodies from entering and blocking the bond between protocadherin and viral particles. This structure allows the ANDU virus to avoid detection by the immune system, which causes the scarcity of data on antibodies that effectively neutralize this type of hantavirus infection, the researchers concluded.