Broad-spectrum Antiviral Tech to Control Infections

The technology selectively induces apoptosis in cells containing viral dsRNA, rapidly killing infected cells without harming uninfected cells.

Researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory have designed a new broad-spectrum antiviral technology that can identify and kill cells infected by any type of virus to terminate the infection.

In a paper published on 27 July in the journal PLoS One, the researchers describe how they were able to destroy 15 viruses — including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever and several other types of hemorrhagic fever – without harming uninfected cells. The technology involved the devlopment of a Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) which selectively induces apoptosis in cells containing viral dsRNA, rapidly killing infected cells without harming uninfected cells.