New study finds two human genes related to avian influenza

A research team at the University of Chicago found that the mechanism by which the H5N1 avian influenza virus infects human lung epithelial cells is related to two human genes, so a new approach to antiviral development can be developed by affecting these two genes.

New study finds two human genes related to avian influenza

Related papers were published on the 10th in the new American academic journal Cell Report. The researchers said that when the H5N1 avian influenza virus infects the human body, it often invades through the lung epithelial cells. To screen which genes are involved in viral infection mechanisms, the researchers used gene editing techniques to create about 19,000 lung epithelial cells with different genetic variants that exposed them to the H5N1 virus.

It was found that the gene named SLC35A1 is responsible for encoding a receptor on the cell surface that the virus can use to "land" on the cell surface. If you knock it out, the virus loses the "hand" of the infected host.

Another gene, called CIC, regulates the immune response, which suppresses the immune response of cells to foreign pathogens. If it is turned off, the immune response will be stronger and help fight the bird flu virus.


But one of the authors, one of the authors of the University of Chicago, assistant professor of microbiology, Balaji Manikasami, said that it is not possible to permanently knock out the CIC gene to fight the virus, because after the infection, it is needed to close the immune response, otherwise it will Causes an autoimmune disease.

The researchers say the findings help develop new ways to help the body fight the avian flu virus. In addition, they used similar methods to expose cells to other pathogens, and found that CIC genes play an important role in a variety of diseases, and thus may be targeted in the treatment of a variety of diseases.