An international team of researchers led by a Canadian professor has identified how the dreaded Norwalk virus copies itself, which will hopefully help stem future outbreaks.
The study uncovered the makeup of the enzyme the virus uses to copy its genetic code.
The good news is that the part of the enzyme responsible for the copies, known as the active site, can actually be blocked if the right drug is made to "fit" the site.
"In order to make a new virus you need to copy the genetic material. So because this enzyme is the thing that's responsible for doing that, if we understand how it works we can work with chemists to synthesize a drug-like compound that could bind to the enzyme and interfere with that process," said University of Calgary associate professor Ken Ng, lead researcher on the study.
"If the chemists can come up with a good compound, then we would have a drug to treat the disease."
While this kind of discovery won't lead to a vaccine for the virus, it could lead to drugs that can treat those who fall ill.
"It's really difficult to create vaccines because the viruses are changing all of the time, and your immune system can't develop an effective response against all of them," said Ng. "But a drug can interfere specifically with the virus."
Norwalk is a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea and can lead to dehydration. It belongs to a family of viruses that includes hepatitis C, foot-and-mouth disease and the common cold, all of which do not have effective treatments or vaccines. Polio is included in this group, though it has a vaccine.
This breakthrough could lead to treatments for all of these illnesses.
The discovery was made with the help of the University of Saskatchewan's Synchrotron, which allows researchers to view specimens via X-ray at a rate thousands of times more powerful than an average X-ray machine.
The research team included scientists from the University of Calgary, the University of Oviedo in Spain, Penn State University, the University of Kansas and the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan. The findings will be published in the March 21 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
