Engineered protein enlisted to battle the MERS virus

Researchers converted a staple human ubiquitin protein into an anti-viral tool. Through subtle tweaks, they created an engineered version of the ubiquitin that binds more tightly and paralyzes a key enzyme in MERS to halt viral replication in cells. Other synthetic forms of ubiquitin can be quickly generated to target a diverse range of pathogens.

Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 19, 2017 Category: Science Source Type: news