Researchers Find Building Mutations Into Ebola Virus Protein Disrupts Ability To Cause Disease And Activates Protective Immunity
(World News Science)

ATLANTA-Creating mutations in a key Ebola virus protein that helps the deadly virus escape from the body`s defenses can make the virus unable to produce sickness and activate protective immunity in the infected host, according to a study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University. The mutated virus even works as a vaccine to protect animals from infection with the virulent Ebola virus, researchers said. The study suggests that VP35, a protein that enables Ebola virus to block early immune responses to infection, is critical for virulence and is a potential drug target. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports. Zaire ebolavirus, a member of the...