Dr Mihnea Bostina looks at a Seneca Valley Virus attached to its cancer cell specific receptor. Photo: SuppliedResearchers from the University of Otago have been working with a potentially life-saving virus that targets cancer cells while leaving normal healthy tissue alone. The research demonstrates how SVV discriminates between cancer cells and other similar proteins. “We can see exactly how the virus breaks into the cancer cells, while leaving other cells untouched,” Dr Bostina said. "If we want to make the virus more efficient at invading cancer cells, we can leave intact the part that interacts with the cancer cells and modify the rest so the virus can escape the attack of the immune system,” Dr Bostina said.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 29, 2018 20:26 UTC