“It will be an important key to understanding the mechanism of avian influenza infection and developing therapeutics”
Prevention of avian influenza (AI). yunhap news
A domestic research team has developed a molecular sensor that can specifically recognize and isolate only infected cells in the early stages of avian influenza (AI) infection.
Through this, the research team explains that it is possible to check whether or not avian influenza (AI) infection is present within 24 hours.
Professor Jun-seok Lee’s team from the Department of Pharmacology at Korea University announced on the 6th that they had succeeded in developing a molecular sensor (EliF) with the characteristic of selectively emitting light only from avian influenza-infected cells through joint research with Professor Lee Dong-hwan of the Department of Chemistry at Seoul National University.
According to the research team, the existing diagnosis of avian influenza was made only by using a gene amplification (PCR) test or an antibody once morest a virus protein, so it took several days to confirm the infection.
However, the research team explained that using the molecular sensor developed this time, it is possible to detect infection within 24 hours by quickly checking the cellular level changes that occur in the early stages of avian influenza virus infection with a fluorescence reaction.
Professor Jun-seok Lee, the research director, said, “Using the EliF molecule developed this time, it is possible to fractionate cells that show a high infection rate in the early stage of avian influenza virus infection in a live cell state at the single cell level and study their characteristics.” “The research results will be an important key to understanding the mechanisms of avian influenza infection as well as developing therapeutics,” he said.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the international academic journal ‘Nature Communications’.
Meanwhile, this research was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea Biomedical Technology Development Project (Future Infectious Disease Technology Development), mid-level research support project, and Samsung Future Technology Promotion Project.
Lee Seung-gu, online news reporter [email protected]
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