A New Paper, From Texas Biomed, Establishes That Ebola Does In Fact Travel Via Nanotubes... As HIV-1 Is Known To Do -- Cell To Cell.

It has been well-known in the literature that the Ebola virus may linger undetected in the eyes / ocular fluid (for example) of a patient -- up to a year after s/he is no longer ill.

Researchers suspected a mechanism, like that seen decades ago, in some influenza strains, and in HIV-1 -- by which viral protein segments from Ebola (or HIV-1) traverse "nanotubes" (some over 200 microns in length) to find a new host cell, and convert the cell into a factory for replicating the malignant virus, in full.

That suspicion. . . is now. . . fact, as to Ebola -- as it is, with HIV. Here's the latest -- and a bit:

". . .When we launched this project a couple of years ago, we thought the general model of spread of Ebola virus infection -- where a viral particle infects a cell, replication begins, new virus particles are made and released into the body to infect neighboring cells -- was a bit too simplistic," says Dr. Shtanko.

Using state-of-the-art technology with live scanning electron and high-resolution 3D-microscopy, Dr. Shtanko and her team showed that Ebola virus infection in cells enhanced the formation of tunneling nanotubes containing viral particles. The tunneling nanotubes then promoted the transfer of these particles to other cells. Notably, the full virus was not required to trigger nanotube formation; only small sections of the virus coding for individual proteins were needed. . . .

This happened even in the presence of treatments meant to stop the Ebola virus.

"Importantly, we observed that Ebola virus infection could spread in cultures treated with virus entry inhibitors or therapeutic treatments that stop viruses from entering a cell," Dr. Shtanko explains. . . .

[Editorial aside: I bash Texas politicians quite a bit here -- so I think it is important -- for me to highlight that there are lots of real scientists, doing real work -- of vital import -- inside that state, as well. Leadership there -- based on any science -- by Texas politicians? MIA.]

It is hoped that this deepening understanding will suggest new pathways for therapeutic agents, and more thoroughly clear a given patient's body of the virus. . . permanently. We shall see -- but this is why pursuing basic bio-science is so vitally important: without the knowledge gained from fighting AIDS, we might not have known to look for a a nanotube mechanism. . . in Ebola.

Onward, smiling in spite of myself. . . .

नमस्ते