A new study of ocular herpes infections by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago helps shed light on the question of viral reinfections by identifying a key protein involved in viral reinfections that could be targeted by antiviral drugs.
The UIC team examined how the heparanase protein, which is present in all of our cells, affects herpes simplex virus type 1 reinfection in mice. They found that inhibition of heparanase activity can protect the eyes from reinfection. Mice that had the heparanase protein knocked out showed no signs of corneal cloudiness after a second infection, compared to normal heparanase mice, whose corneas showed significant signs of reinfection.
In addition, the researchers found that when the protein is activated by infection, the immune system can exacerbate symptoms during a second infection. The study, recently published in Progress of scienceit also discovered that when heparanase does not work properly, the virus is more likely to cause illness in people previously infected with the virus.
Taken together, the findings suggest that inhibition of heparanase protein activity may be an effective way to prevent herpes simplex virus type 1 reinfection, potentially leading to a breakthrough in preventing recurrence of these infections. infections.
“We wanted to know if we could better protect them from infection, and we found that we could,” explained Chandrashekhar D. Patil, co-senior author of the study and a visiting scholar in the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences.
Reducing reinfections is vitally important because people infected multiple times with herpes simplex virus type 1 are at increased risk of health complications, such as ulcer disease and even blindness. These findings may also have a significant impact on public health, as they help inform scientists about the possible mechanisms of reinfection with other viruses, such as the coronavirus. Other research has indicated that heparanase also plays a role in reinfections of COVID-19.
While more research is needed to understand the most effective way to inhibit heparanase to prevent viral reinfections, these findings indicate that blocking the protein could be a promising drug target, explains Deepak Shukla, Marion Schenk Esq. Professor of Aging Eye Research and corresponding author of the study.
“This could be the wonder drug of the future,” he said. “We could be looking at a broad-spectrum antiviral drug.”
Study co-authors are Rahul K. Suryawanshi, Alex Agelidis, Raghuram Koganti, Tejabhiram Yadavalli, Joshua Ames, and Hemant Borase of UIC. Funding for the research came from the National Institutes of Health, the National Eye Institute and the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness.
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