Scientists look to epigenetics to thwart viruses

Some viral pathogens modify chromatin and other epigenetic machinery, making them appealing drug targets. When a virus invades a host cell, it needs to do some remodeling to make the environment safe for itself. In recent years, researchers have teased out how certain viruses—particularly, HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV)—manipulate hosts’ epigenomes, and thus gene expression, to inhabit their cellular homes. Ultimately, they’d like to follow the cancer field’s lead by developing epigenetics-based drugs against such diseases. Recently, Thomas Kristie’s lab at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease set out to see what could be done epigenetically about HSV. The virus’s effects can range from cold sores to (in newborns) death, and once the pathogen infects someone, it can remain dormant indefinitely in their sensory neurons, with the potential to flare up down the road. Available medications can combat these flare-ups, but don’t rid the body of the virus once...