Scientists Crack the Code of a Key Antiviral Protein — Opening Doors to New Therapies
The Research group of Dr. Atul Kumar [Department of Biological Sciences] revealed how the immune system deploys a critical antiviral protein at the molecular level, potentially paving the way for new treatments against viral infections. Dr. Atul Kumar and his team have uncovered the long-mysterious mechanism by which a protein called ISG15, a key player in the body's antiviral defenses, is transferred and attached to target molecules inside cells. ISG15 has long been known to help the body fight viruses, but exactly how it was handed off between enzymes and fastened to its targets remained poorly understood. The new research reveals that ISG15 follows a distinct set of molecular rules that differ significantly from ubiquitin, a closely related protein whose pathway scientists already understand well. The study shows that among hundreds of related enzymes in human cells, HERC5 possesses a specialized molecular architecture that enables it to recognize and transfer ISG15 with remarkable precision. By deciphering this mechanism, the team was also able to re-engineer cellular machinery, converting an ISG15-modifying enzyme into a ubiquitin-modifying enzyme, and vice versa. Understanding these mechanisms not only explains how the immune system mounts targeted antiviral responses, but also offers researchers a new set of molecular targets for developing antiviral therapies and immune-modulating drugs. For more details, kindly visit https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(26)00643-1?uuid=uuid:51881bca-81d3-4bec-89c9-bde612cba20c.
