08/07/2016
The ALBA Synchrotron reveals the inside of hepatitis C-infected cells
The ALBA Synchrotron reveals the inside of hepatitis C-infected cells
There are now about 150 million people in the world infected with hepatitis C, a disease that can lead to serious liver problems and is currently the leading cause of the need for liver transplants.
Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología of the CSIC (CNB-CSIC) and the ALBA Synchrotron have now looked inside an infected cell in three dimensions and seen how the virus greatly distorts some of its structures. The study has been recently published in the scientific journal ACS Nano.
In addition, the authors observed that some of the antiviral drugs most commonly used to treat hepatitis C (daclatasvir + sofosbuvir) can reverse these structural alterations
To generate this 3D map, the scientists used synchrotron light at ALBA. With the MISTRAL beamline, they used a new technique called soft X-ray cryo-tomography (cryo-SXT). This method can obtain 3D images of the entire cell in its natural state, that is, without chemical pretreatment, cutting or drying the cell.
"With this technique – now only available in four places in the world (the ALBA Synchrotron, Bessy synchrotron in Germany, Diamond in the UK and ALS in the United States) – we can do a tomogram of the cell (similar to a conventional CT scan but with a million times more resolution)", says Ana Joaquina Pérez-Berná, scientist at the ALBA Synchrotron and first author of the article.
Congratulations!
News based on the press release published by the ALBA Synchrotron
Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología of the CSIC (CNB-CSIC) and the ALBA Synchrotron have now looked inside an infected cell in three dimensions and seen how the virus greatly distorts some of its structures. The study has been recently published in the scientific journal ACS Nano.
In addition, the authors observed that some of the antiviral drugs most commonly used to treat hepatitis C (daclatasvir + sofosbuvir) can reverse these structural alterations
To generate this 3D map, the scientists used synchrotron light at ALBA. With the MISTRAL beamline, they used a new technique called soft X-ray cryo-tomography (cryo-SXT). This method can obtain 3D images of the entire cell in its natural state, that is, without chemical pretreatment, cutting or drying the cell.
"With this technique – now only available in four places in the world (the ALBA Synchrotron, Bessy synchrotron in Germany, Diamond in the UK and ALS in the United States) – we can do a tomogram of the cell (similar to a conventional CT scan but with a million times more resolution)", says Ana Joaquina Pérez-Berná, scientist at the ALBA Synchrotron and first author of the article.
Congratulations!
News based on the press release published by the ALBA Synchrotron
More news
05/02/2014
Award for the T-Systems Data Center located in the Barcelona Synchrotron Park
27/01/2014
Companies from the Barcelona Synchrotron Park will have a privileged access to the ICMAB scientific equipments
20/01/2014
The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology opens its new building
14/01/2014
Barcelona, the 4th smartest city in Europe
03/01/2014
The Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca becomes a UAB-affiliated research institute
28/11/2013
Visit of a Moscow City Council delegation at Barcelona Synchrotron Park (BSP)
home