Hyderabad, Oct. 23 -- Dr Santosh Chauhan's group at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad, have discovered a critical mechanism that human cells use to detect and fight viral infections.

The study identifies a dual-action protein that acts as an early warning sensor and activator for the body's immune system. It is now published in The EMBO Journal.

When a virus invades a cell, the host must quickly spot the intruder and sound the alarm before the virus multiplies. About seven years ago, Dr Chauhan's group had hypothesised that a specialised group of human proteins could serve a dual role: directly detecting viral genetic material and immediately tagging key cellular proteins to sound the immune alarm...