Proteins on the surface of influenza A viruses are key to breaching our our bodies’ mucus boundaries
Kateryna Kon/Science Picture Library
Earlier than viruses can infect cells, they have to first get to them, usually by traversing layers of the physique’s protecting mucus. Understanding how evolution optimised the influenza A virus for this slimy activity might assist us create new antiviral medication.
For those who simply dropped an influenza A virus into mucus, pure diffusion would by no means carry it to cells quick sufficient to trigger an an infection, says Siddhansh Agarwal on the College of California, Berkeley. Influenza A viruses – the one influenza…
