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>>> Kiss of death for cold sores as scientists discover ‘on/off switch’


The Telegraph

by Joe Pinkstone

May 4, 2022


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hope-cold-sore-sufferers-scientists-154254824.html


Cold sore sufferers could one day be free from outbreaks, after scientists discovered the causes of repeated flare-ups.

The blister-like sores are caused by infection from a highly common herpes virus. For example, nine in 10 people are infected with one form of the virus, called human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6).

After initial symptoms have cleared up, the virus remains in the body in a dormant state and can occasionally reactivate.

The root cause behind resurgences in cold sores has been a mystery, but scientists from the University of Wurzberg, in Germany, unearthed how the viruses are triggered.

The team focused on a small piece of genetic material made by the virus, called miR-aU14, and found that it acts like a switch that turns the virus on and off when it is in the human body.

This triggers a sequence where the body’s immune system is no longer able to suppress the viruses, allowing them to replicate. How the cascade is set in motion still remains an open question, however.

Discovery could open up new treatments

Prof Lars Dolken, author of the study, told The Telegraph: “The initial trigger of virus reactivation may be many potential factors like stress, other infections, immune suppression.

“Once this initial event has triggered transcription of viral miR-aU14 it may promote virus reactivation by two different means.

“It either allows the reactivating virus to survive intrinsic host immune responses or it may further promote the activation of viral gene expression itself.”

In the research, published in the journal Nature, the researchers added that by targeting MiR-U14, they may be able to “provide new therapeutic options for preventing herpes virus reactivation”.

They say that the virus “hijacked” the body’s normal processes and that now the key mechanism has been identified, it “should be readily druggable”.

"How herpes viruses reactivate from a dormant state is the central question in herpes virus research," Prof Lars Dölken added.

"If we understand this, we know how to intervene therapeutically."

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