The alterations caused by the hepatitis C virus in the endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria of infected cells have been observed by scientists from the National Center for Biotechnology of the CSIC (CNB-CSIC) and the ALBA Synchrotron in great detail, as you can. see in the video that heads this post.
These malformations recover after treatment with the antiviral drugs most commonly used to cure hepatitis. As Pablo Gastaminza , CNB-CSIC researcher and lead author of the work, explains: "It is as if we had entered the infected cell. We have seen that both the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria are deeply deformed".
The study was recently published in the scientific journal ACS Nano . To achieve this three-dimensional map, they have used the synchrotron light from ALBA, the electron accelerator located in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona). In the MISTRAL beamline they have used a new technique called soft X-ray cryo-tomography (cryo-SXT) capable of taking 3D images of complete cells in their natural state, that is, without prior chemical treatment and without cutting them nor desiccate them .
Today around 150 million people live in the world infected with the Hepatitis C virus, a disease that can lead to serious liver problems and is currently the leading cause of liver transplantation in the world.
Via | Sync