Resumen de El virus de la gripe aviar: nuevos aspectos relativos a su patogenicidad y a estrategias para combatirlo
José Antonio Cabezas Fernández del Campo
Since Taubenberger´s team recreated each of the genes of influenza virus that caused the terrible pandemic of 1918-19 using the technique called reverse genetics and checked the infectious capacity of the newborn virus, it seems that its high pathogenicity may be due to disregulation of the innate immune mechanisms normally performed by the cytokines of host cell. Furthermore, the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza, which also causes a similar dysfunction, has higher pathogenicity than that of 1918-19 influenza virus. Assays to prevent the mild, moderate or severe risks of an eventual future pandemic affecting humans caused by the H5N1 subtype are now being carried out by preparing new vaccines and neuraminidase (= sialidase) inhibitors such as oseltamivir and zanamivir, as well as other agents that block the function of several components of the virus. Recently, has been debated whether it would be convenient to use modulators of the immune system, such as statins, against the secondary effects of the viral infection caused by the disregulation mechanisms of cytokines, to reinforce the above therapeutic measures. The low cost of statins offers additional justification for their use.
