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Protein discovered to trigger virus-killing cells
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ISRAELI scientists said on Wednesday they have discovered a protein that recognizes virus-infected cells in the body, which could potentially improve medicine to combat a number of illnesses.
The research focused on so-called natural killer cells, which destroy viral and cancer-infested cells they recognize through a receptor.
The Israeli team said it has found what triggers the receptor, a protein called haemagglutinin that is found in seven types of viruses, including the one that leads to the flu.
"The discovery of the 'triggering' haemagglutinin protein holds great promise for the development of drugs for combatting various viral diseases," head researchers Ofer Mandelboim and Angel Porgador said in a statement.
The findings was published on Thursday in the journal Nature.
Mandelboim, a researcher at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, and Porgador, from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, were assisted on the project by a group of US and British scientists.(SD-Agencies)
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