AI discovers the 'vulnerable point' that prevents viruses from entering cells.

Thanks to AI, American scientists have discovered a key molecular 'switch' that neutralizes the herpes virus as soon as it attempts to invade cells.

American scientists use AI to uncover the "critical switch," blocking viruses right at the gateway to cell entry - Photo: FREEPIK

Scientists at Washington State University (USA) have made a significant breakthrough using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify a hidden molecular "switch" that the herpes virus relies on to enter cells. By interfering with this weakness, they successfully prevented infection at the entry point, opening up new prospects for future antiviral therapies.

The research, published in the journal Nanoscale, focuses on deciphering and neutralizing the virus's entry mechanism. Professor Jin Liu, the lead author of the study, noted that viruses are "clever," with an incredibly complex process of cell entry involving countless molecular interactions. Within this mess, most are just minor, insignificant interactions, but there are crucial points that determine the virus's survival.

The research team focused on the "fusion protein"—the tool that herpes viruses use to fuse membranes and enter host cells. Due to the complexity and flexible shape-shifting capabilities of this protein, developing effective vaccines or treatments for herpes viruses has remained a major challenge for medicine for many years.

To solve this challenging problem, researchers combined detailed molecular simulations with machine learning algorithms. Instead of conducting thousands of trial-and-error experiments, they used AI to analyze and sift through thousands of potential interactions within the protein structure.

This technology helps them isolate noise signals to pinpoint the single amino acid that plays a "key" role in the virus's invasion process.

After the AI ​​pinpointed the strategic location, the research team moved on to real-world testing in a microbiology laboratory.

By creating a targeted mutation at that specific amino acid, they discovered that the virus was completely incapacitated from its ability to fuse with cell membranes. As a result, the virus was blocked outside and unable to cause infection.

According to Professor Liu, the combination of theoretical and experimental computation has yielded remarkable results. If scientists relied solely on traditional trial-and-error methods to test each interaction individually in the laboratory, it could take years to find similar results. Using computers to narrow the search has saved considerable time and resources.

Despite identifying this critical weakness, the research team says there is still much to explore about how a small change at the molecular level can have a ripple effect on the overall structure of the viral protein.

However, this success has demonstrated the power of AI in biomedicine, opening up a completely new direction for the design of antiviral drugs: shifting from passive searching to active and precise design based on computer simulation.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ai-tim-ra-tu-huyet-ngan-vi-rut-xam-nhap-te-bao-20251217075536258.htm