How the virus does this was unknown until now. The scientists from the HZI research group "Viral Immune Modulation" under the leadership of Prof. Melanie Brinkmann have now been able to show that the virus is actively preventing activation of the innate immune system through Toll-like receptors.
It has yet to be established how exactly and in which part of the Toll-like receptor function is disturbed. This is one of the leverage points for future research: "The better we understand how the virus protects itself from attacks by the immune system, the better we can use this knowledge to fight infections," Brinkmann says.
This may lead to the development of new drugs against gammaherpesviruses. "Those agents could actively protect the immune system and prevent viruses from winning the fight against it," says Bussey. "However, this is still a long way off."
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