Have you ever had a cold sore/fever blister? If you
have, then you know how painful and annoying they can be. Cold sores consist of
small blisters on and/or around the lips. The area is usually red, sore and
even itchy. They usually heal within a few days, and there are many medications
available that speed up the healing process.
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus 1
(HSV1). Once infected, the virus remains dormant in the body until it is
triggered by a stressor, such as stress, fatigue, excessive sunlight, or a
weakened immune system. Cold sores are very common, for approximately 80 % of
the U.S. population has been exposed to this virus. I’ve always wondered why
some of us consistently have cold sores while others never get them. Those
lucky people have an immune system that is able to suppress the virus.
I and other cold-sore sufferers would love it if we
never had to deal with another cold sore.
Researchers at Duke University may just make this a reality one
day. They have determined how the virus
remains hidden. They now understand how the virus switches from the latent
phase to the active phase on a molecular level. Using this information, they
may be able to reawaken the virus and kill it.
For example, while HSV1 remains dormant, it produces
latency associated transcript RNA, or LAT RNA. By using mice, the research team
demonstrated that the LAT RNA, extremely unstable, broke down into smaller
strands called microRNAs. The microRNAs impede viral reproduction by blocking
the synthesis of proteins that aid in the viral replication cycle. Therefore,
the virus is able to remain dormant if there are enough microRNAs to suppress
protein production. However, when a stressor is present, the virus produces
messenger RNA at an amount that the microRNAs cannot block. Thus, the proteins
are created and active viral replication proceeds.
Curing the occurrence of cold sores requires a combination therapy. Treatment cannot reach the virus while it is inactive, so it must be activated to kill it. The researchers have designed a drug that binds to the microRNAs responsible for keeping the virus dormant. If the drug works like they expect, it will activate the virus, which would then replicate. After activating the virus, the patient would take acyclovir, which is an antiviral medication that destroys replicating HSV1. This would result in the person being cured of cold sores. Animal trials are being used to determine how the drug can be most effectively delivered.
It has been years since this discovery, but as we know science takes time. I will definitely keep up with the progression of this research. I hope one day we will find out that no one will ever have to deal with a cold sore again.
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I hate cold sores! I never had them until I contracted it from my boyfriend years ago and now I have to take medicine to prevent them. I just figured viruses can't be cured but this is good news! I'm going to have to keep asking my dermatologist about this cure until it becomes a real treatment. Thanks for sharin
ReplyDeleteThat's so complicated! As others have noted, much of the complexity in producing working drugs is in delivery. Maybe because the infection is primarily epithelial, it isn't such a problem in this case.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby,
ReplyDeleteI think its fascinating how some researchers attack some of the problems they come across. I know if I ever got into research on medicine I would probably stubbornly keep looking for a drug that could attack a dormant virus, even if it was impossible. Activating the virus so an already existing medication can work is a novel and interesting concept for remediation of the cold sore virus.
Abby,
ReplyDeleteI used to never get cold sores until I reached high school. I still don't get them very often but they are such an annoyance. I agree with your statement about how cold sore suffers wish they never had to deal with another one. They always seem to come up at such a bad time and it seems like they never go away. This research is very interesting especially since you have to get the virus to become active before you can cure it. I would gladly get another cold sore if it meant that it could be cured and I wouldn't have another one.