IISc researchers decode how a virus hijacks host protein machinery
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have used cryo-electron microscopy to decode how the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) hijacks host ribosomes to synthesize viral proteins. This discovery provides new insights into viral replication mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.
Why it matters
Understanding how viruses hijack host machinery is critical for developing antiviral drugs against EMCV and similar pathogens like poliovirus.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru have decoded how the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) hijacks a host’s protein synthesis machinery.
EMCV is a rodent-borne animal virus that causes heart and brain inflammation, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders in many mammals.
According to the researchers, viruses lack their own molecular machinery required for protein synthesis. Instead, they hijack the host’s protein-making machinery, specifically ribosomes and translational factors.
“This process is essential for viral multiplication and infection. Viruses have RNA genomes or mRNAs containing structured regions called Internal Ribosomal Entry Sites (IRES), which help capture the host ribosome to translate viral genes while the translation of host genes is blocked,” it said.
In a new study published in eLife, the researchers used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to decode how the EMCV IRES hijacks the host’s protein synthesis machinery.
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