Prof. Yue Wang and her research team clarified a new mechanism of ADAM17, one member of a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) family, in the regulation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection, and the results of the studies have been published online in the Journal of Virology sponsored by American society for microbiology.

By using inhibitor and genetic modification methods, Prof. Wang' group demonstrate that activated ADAM17 negatively regulate PRRSV infection, whereas supression of ADAM17 activation result in increase of PRRSV infection. Hence, ADAM17 may be an additional component of the anti-viral defenses triggered by viral infection. It demonstrated that the changes of the ADAM17 determines the infection ability of host cells with PRRSV as well as the development of the associated diseases, which provide theoretical foundation for treatment of disease and design for newtype drugs.

http://jvi.asm.org/content/88/18/10448.full.pdf