Study Identifies How Hantaviruses Infect Lung Cells
Albert Einstein College of MedicineHantaviruses cause severe and sometimes fatal respiratory infections, but how they infect lung cells has been a mystery. In today’s issue of Nature, an international team including researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine reports that hantaviruses gain entry to lung cells by “unlocking” a cell-surface receptor called protocadherin-1 (PCDH1). Deleting this receptor made lab animals highly resistant to infection. The findings show that targeting PCDH1 could be a useful strategy against deadly hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).