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One universal antiviral to rule them all?
Taking inspiration from a rare mutation that makes people impervious to viral diseases, a Columbia researcher is developing a therapy that could bestow this superpower on the rest of us.
Bogunovic, a professor of pediatric immunology at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, soon learned that everyone with the mutation, which causes a deficiency in an immune regulator called ISG15, has mild, but persistent systemic inflammation. In his latest study, published Aug. 13 in Science Translational Medicine, Bogunovic and his team report that an experimental therapy they’ve developed temporarily gives recipients (hamsters and mice, so far) the same antiviral superpower as people with ISG15 deficiency. Bogunovic’s team sees their technology as a weapon for the next pandemic—providing protection for first responders, people in nursing homes, and family members of infected individuals—regardless of the responsible virus.
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