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Phoenix666 writes:

Secrets of Mighty Cancer Killing Virus Unlocked by Otago Researchers:

University of Otago researchers have used high-resolution electron microscopy images to reveal how an anti-cancer virus interacts with tumor cells, increasing its potential to save lives.

Seneca Valley Virus (SVV), a newly discovered virus which infects cancer cells but not normal tissue, has become a main research project in the New Zealand laboratory of Dr Mihnea Bostina, Academic Director of Otago's OMNI Electron Microscopy unit and senior lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

[...] The virus is a strong contender for effective virotherapy because it selectively targets a receptor found only in tumor cells in more than 60 per cent of human cancers.

The receptor, a protein called ANTXR1, is expressed on tumors, but it has a cousin, ANTXR2, that only appears on healthy tissues. SVV doesn't bind with the similar receptor on healthy cells -- it only shows strong affinity for ANTXR1.

Journal Reference:
Nadishka Jayawardena, Laura Burga, Richard Easingwood, Yoshimasa Takizawa, Matthias Wolf, and Mihnea Bostina. Structural basis for Anthrax Toxin Receptor 1 recognition by Seneca Valley Virus. PNAS, 2018 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810664115

Very welcome news.

Original Submission