The Wily Ways of Herpes Simplex

Virus may trick cells to gain entry

A. Oveta Fuller Photo: D.C. Goings

Millions of Americans know all too well that once you are infected with herpes simplex, you are infected for life. The virus can get inside almost any kind of human cell, reproduce in vast numbers, and linger for years in the body, causing everything from recurrent genital blisters to sores around the mouth. How does the virus do this?

That’s what a team of Medical School researchers — led by A. Oveta Fuller, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology — are trying to find out. They recently discovered a receptor called B5, which functions as a molecular “lock” in the outer membrane of most human cells. Herpes simplex seems to have evolved a way to latch onto the receptor, and fool the cell into letting the virus inside.

“We can use the receptor molecule to try to understand the process, and perhaps combat infection at this vulnerable site,” Fuller says. “While we’re still a few years away from using this new knowledge to find and test effective antiviral drug candidates, this is an exciting first step.”

—KEG

For an expanded version of the story:
www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2005/herpes.htm

For patient information on genital herpes:
www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_herpgen_crs.htm