Ebola Virus Blocked from Entering Cells

New findings say it is possible for a small molecule to bind to ebola virus before it enters the cell and thereby prevent infection. The next step is to try this technique on lab animals.

New findings say it is possible for a small molecule to bind to ebola virus before it enters the cell and thereby prevent infection. The next step is to try this technique on lab animals.

Scientists from University of Illinois at Chicago may have founded a way out to prevent ebola virus from entering human cells. Writing in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, researcher Duncan Wardrop says that he has found a family of small molecules that binds to the virus and may block its way into cells. It was previously known that small molecules could interfere with ebola infections, but these compounds "appear to exert their effects by altering the cells' response to the virus once it's entered the cell--by which time it's too late," he said.