Scientists identify key protein behind spread of shingles virus

Credit: CU Anschutz Medical Campus Scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have discovered a new evasion strategy used by the varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles, that may allow it to affect tissues far from the original site of infection. The study was published today in the Journal of Virology. The researchers, using human neurons and rodent models, honed in on a single viral protein known as IE62 that is packaged and shuttled throughout the body in structures known as small extracellular vesicles (sEVs). They discovered that IE62 packaged inside sEVs can travel from the Read More