SASKATOON – The structure of a key protein that stops viruses from spreading has been discovered using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron in Saskatoon.
Officials say this is an important step in developing new ways of fighting viral diseases like influenza, SARS, Hepatitis C, West Nile fever and polio.
Using data collected by the CLS, researchers found the molecular blueprint behind the IFIT protein.
Small proteins, like IFIT, are needed to spread the virus throughout the body.
The discovery will allow scientists to develop new drugs to combat a wide-range of immune system disorders.
“This discovery of the IFIT protein structure is very rewarding to us at the Canadian Light Source,” said Shaun Labiuk, research associate with the Canadian Macromolecular Crystallography Facility (CMCF) at the CLS.
“We are always excited when the work we put into helping researchers makes high-calibre research like this possible.”
The synchrotron accelerates electrons in a tube at nearly the speed of light, allowing scientists to select different forms of very bright light using a spectrum of X-ray, infrared and ultraviolet light to conduct experiments.
The discovery of the IFIT protein was made by researchers from McGill University and the Austrian Research Center for Molecular Medicine and the findings were recently published in the journal Nature.
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