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Identification of human and mosquito receptors for alphaviruses

Alphaviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes to many species, and can be fatal to humans. The identification of virus receptors that are evolutionarily conserved between mosquitoes and humans might explain the wide range of viral hosts.
  1. Caroline K. Martin

    1. Caroline K. Martin is in the Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York 10461, USA.

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  2. Margaret Kielian

    1. Margaret Kielian is in the Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York 10461, USA.

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The group of viruses called alphaviruses can cause severe disease, including inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and of joints (arthritis). Despite the high disease potential of these viruses, which can cause fatal illness, there are currently no licensed vaccines or antiviral therapeutics available to tackle human alphavirus infections. Writing in Nature, Clark et al.1 now pinpoint key targets that enable several of these viruses to infect cells (Fig. 1).

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Nature 602, 388-390 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00052-3

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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