Influenza Virus

206 is the number of viruses known to cause infections in humans. Now, imagine a $25 blood test that could tell patients their viral history. This is very nearly a reality (the $25 part possibly being less certain) that researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed with “VirScan.” According to this piece: “[the research group] synthesized more than 93,000 short pieces of DNA encoding different segments of viral proteins. They introduced those pieces of DNA into bacteria-infecting viruses called bacteriophage. Each bacteriophage manufactured one of the protein segments – known as a peptide – and displayed the peptide on its surface. As a group, the bacteriophage displayed all of the protein sequences found in the more than 1,000 known strains of human viruses. To perform the VirScan analysis, all of the peptide-displaying bacteriophage are allowed to mingle with a blood sample. Antiviral antibodies in the blood find and bind to their target epitopes within the displayed peptides. The scientists then retrieve the antibodies and wash away everything except for the few bacteriophage that cling to them. By sequencing the DNA of those bacteriophage, they can identify which viral protein pieces were grabbed onto by antibodies in the blood sample. That tells the scientists which viruses a person’s immune system has previously encountered, either through infection or through vaccination.” MORE

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