A high-tech microscope developed by scientists at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine has captured images of cancer-causing viruses clinging to human DNA. The new tool could help doctors eventually treat incurable diseases by exterminating viruses such as HPV or Epstein-Bar that embed themselves into cells, according to an April 19 UVA Health System press release.
"The reason we can't get rid of these [viruses] is because we can't figure out a way to get their DNA out of the nucleus, out of the cell," said UVA researcher Dean Kedes, MD, PhD, in a prepared statement. "They depend on this 'tether' to remain anchored to the DNA within our cells, and to remain attached even as the cells divide. This tether is a key factor to disrupt in devising a cure."
UVA researcher and molecular geneticist M. Mitchell Smith, PHD, spent three years building the microscope, which can identify the structure of the tether used by the virus Kaposi's sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV). The microscopes strength allows researchers to view things 8,000 times smaller than a piece of human hair and sits on a table the size of a small room, according to the press release.
Researchers used fluorescent antibodies to identify individual molecules on the tether and recorded their spatial location. These images combined with x-ray crystallography images were then made into 3D images of the tether.
"Now, for the first time, it's OK to say, 'Let's focus on structures that are vital to the virus that before were below the limits of our standard methods of detection within infected cells,'" Kedes said.
The research was published April 2 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.