A detailed analysis of blood samples from Ebola patients in Sierra Leone is providing clues about the progression of the effects of the Ebola virus in patients and potential treatment pathways.
A detailed analysis of blood samples from Ebola patients in Sierra Leone is providing clues about the progression of the effects of the Ebola virus in patients and potential treatment pathways. A manuscript discussing the work, led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings point to a critical role for a molecular pathway that relies on the common nutrient choline, as well as the importance of cellular bodies known as microvesicles.
"There's a lot more research to be done - these are preliminary results based on a small number of samples," said PNNL scientist Jennifer Kyle, first author of the paper. "We do hope these results will someday benefit patients."
Read more at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Image: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from a chronically infected VERO E6 cell (yellow-green). Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
