Without a functional immune system, humans would have no chance in the fight against viruses. As soon as a virus enters the body, sensitive immune system sensors detect the intruder and sound the alarm, awaking further defensive components, which then proceed against the attackers. Usually it is possible to control the infection and destroy the viruses. But viruses of a certain family have adapted well to the immune system and cannot be eliminated by it: the herpesviruses. They remain in their host lifelong after infection. A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Technische Universität Braunschweig has discovered a herpesviral protein that specifically eliminates one component of the immune system, but uses another part for its own purposes. This allows the virus to successfully infect the host organism. The researchers published their results in The EMBO Journal.
