Smallpox virus, which killed millions of humans through the ages, ranks among the world's most feared bioterrorism agents. In a new report, virologists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and their collaborators at Oklahoma State University demonstrate how poxviruses such as smallpox defeat the body's host immune defenses. The implications extend beyond viral infections to cancer therapy, says senior author Yan Xiang, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UT Health Science Center.
Smallpox virus magnified approximately 370,000 times. Smallpox, which killed millions of humans through the ages, ranks among the world's most feared bioterrorism agents. In a new report, virologists from the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and collaborators at Oklahoma State University demonstrate how poxviruses such as smallpox defeat the body's host immune defenses.
Xiang and colleagues revealed how a molecule on the poxviruses defeats a host restriction factor called SAMD9 in humans and animals. In addition to protecting against viruses, SAMD9 suppresses tumors, and mutations in the human SAMD9 gene are responsible for a life-threatening cancer called normophosphatemic familiar tumoral calcinosis. SAMD9 is also implicated in myeloid leukemias and lung cancer.