A study reports that the structural maturation of the matrix domain of the Gag protein of HIV-1 is induced by the proteolytic release and binding of the spacer peptide SP2.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging virus that can cause severe lung disease, MERS, and is transmitted from camels to humans. Although MERS-CoV infects camels in both Africa and Arabia, MERS cases have only been documented in Arabia for reasons that remain incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence that viruses recently circulating in Arabian camels and causing human infections are less susceptible to inhibition by human soluble DPP4 (sDPP4)—a secreted version of the viral receptor that is present in various bodily fluids. Furthermore, we link sDPP4 resistance to mutation Q1020R in the spike protein of these viruses. These results suggest that viruses currently circulating in Arabian camels are better equipped to overcome a natural barrier to infection, sDPP4, than those circulating in African camels.

An analysis of AlphaFold protein structure predictions shows that while in many cases the predictions are highly accurate, there are also many instances where the predicted structures or parts of pred...

Measles virus (MeV) presents a public health threat that is escalating as vaccine coverage in the general population declines and as populations of immunocompromised individuals, who cannot be vaccina...

HEV-specific antiviral treatment is still lacking. Here, the authors functionally and structurally characterize broadly neutralizing antibodies isolated from HEV convalescent individuals and show that...

Liebe Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger, als Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler arbeiten wir täglich daran, die Grundlagen für fundierte Entscheidungen und Innovationen zu schaffen – basierend auf üb...