A team of UCLA-led researchers has identified a protein with
broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon
against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever,
Nipah and others designated "priority pathogens" for national
biosecurity purposes by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Disease.
In a study published in the January issue of the journal
Immunity, the researchers describe the novel antiviral property of the protein,
cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H), an enzyme that converts cholesterol to an
oxysterol called 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), which can permeate a cell's wall
and block a virus from getting in.