Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is currently the frontline antiviral drug employed to fight the flu virus in infected individuals by inhibiting neuraminidase, a flu protein responsible for the release of newly synthesized virions. However, oseltamivir resistance has become a critical problem due to rapid mutation of the flu virus. Unfortunately, how mutations actually confer drug resistance is not well understood. In this study, we employ molecular dynamics (MD) and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations, as well as graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated electrostatic mapping, to uncover the mechanism behind point mutation induced oseltamivir-resistance in both H5N1 “avian” and H1N1pdm “swine” flu N1-subtype neuraminidases. The simulations reveal an electrostatic binding funnel that plays a key role in directing oseltamivir into and out of its binding site on N1 neuraminidase. The binding pathway for oseltamivir suggests how mutations disrupt drug binding and how new drugs may circumve...

Industry response to the H1N1 pandemic suggests that cell culture vaccine production is about to come of age with two firms that use the technique, Novartis and Baxter, claiming it will cut development and manufacturing timelines by months. Margaret Chan officially declared the pandemic explaining that H1N1 infections worldwide can no longer be traced and that “ further spread is considered inevitable .” She asked drugmakers to begin preparing for large-scale H1N1 vaccine production when manufacture of seasonal stocks is completed, prompting a flurry of industry updates from vaccine producers. Baxter and Novartis aim for early availability The most eye-catching of these responses came from US drugmaker Baxter which announced it has completed testing of its Celvapan H1N1 vaccine and is “ now in full-scale production ,” and is working to deliver it as early as next month. Traditionally, seasonal influenza vaccines are mass produced using the albumin found in fertilised hens eggs a...

Qiagen has announced that two of its tests can be used to screen for the swine flu virus. Data analysis of the viral gene sequences showed that the artus Influenza LC RT PCR Kit and the Resplex II 2.0 Kit, can be used to detect whether or not Influenza A virus sequences are present in a sample, including the H1N1 subtype. If the sample proves positive, treatment with medication such as Tamiflu or Relenza can be prescribed, according to the recommendations given by the corresponding drug manufacturers. "We have compared the swine fever virus' sequence with our assays. The primers, which define the starting and end points of a genetic sequence that is amplified to make the target sequence visible, match 100 percent for the artus kit and almost 100 percent for the Resplex kit", said Dr Thomas Grewing, senior director, R&D. "We are now working closely with reference institutions to have both assays further re-validated and optimized based on clinical samples". B...

The United States Department of Agriculture has released the complete genetic sequences of 150 different avian influenza viruses and will make the information available through the National Institutes of Health’s GenBank. The USDA said on Friday that the sequencing data is part of the federal government’s Initiative on Avian Influenza, and that this information will be combined with studies that compare the viruses’ ability to infect poultry such as chickens, turkeys, and domestic ducks. This virus research that generated this data was conducted by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service’s Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL), by the University of Georgia, the Ohio State University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. "The project's ultimate goal is to sequence 900 avian influenza viruses from the SEPRL repository," David Suarez, a researcher with SEPRL, said in a statement. "These include avian influenza viruses col...

Already blogging about vital information that can be obtained form publications and scientific literature Smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research and the importance of Protein structure information in Protein structure databases with new web services for structural biology and biomedical research . Now one of the tactics used by influenza virus to take over the machinery of infected cells has been laid bare by structural biologists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory ( EMBL ) and the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction of EMBL, the University Joseph Fourier and National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), in Grenoble, France. The high-resolution image of the influenza virus' PB2 protein shows how the virus steals a 'cap' molecule from its host to take over the protein production machinery and multiply. PB2 binds the cap by sandwiching it between aromatic amino acids. "Viruses are masters of cunning when it comes to hijacking the normal f...