# 6409
A reoccurring theme in this blog is just how much we have yet to learn about how our immune systems, influenza viruses, and other pathogens function.
Illustrative of this fact is the surprise announcement yesterday that researchers at Universities of Cambridge, Cork, Edinburgh and Utah, the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle and the NIH have discovered a previously unknown gene hidden inside the influenza virus genome.
Dubbed PA-X, this gene (when active) helps attenuates the virulence of the virus. When this gene does not function properly, the flu virus can over stimulate the immune system, making the infection worse.
This discovery appears in a research article published yesterday by Science.
An Overlapping Protein-Coding Region in Influenza A Virus Segment 3 Modulates the Host Response
B. W. Jagger, H. M. Wise,J. C. Kash, K.-A. Walters, N. M. Wills, Y.-L. Xiao, R. L. Dunfee, L. M. Schwartzman, A. Ozinsky, G. L. Bell, R. M. Dalton, A. Lo, S. Efstathiou, J. F. Atkins, A. E. Firth, J. K. Taubenberger, P. Digard
While a short press release from the University of Edinburgh is available (see Gene discovery helps explain how flu can cause severe infections), Ed Yong’s Blog at Discover Magazine provides some of the best analysis of this research that I’ve seen.
At this point, I will step aside and invite you to read Ed’s excellent article:
New flu gene found hiding in plain sight, and affects severity of infections
Ed Yong – Not Exactly Rocket Science
