A Newly Identified Protein May Be the Key to Vanquishing the Common Cold

Misha Pustovit 

Mr. Ippolito 

AP Biology C Even

24 September 2019

Makin, Simon. “A Newly Identified Protein May Be the Key to Vanquishing the Common Cold.” Scientific American, 17 Sept. 2019, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-newly-identified-protein-may-be-the-key-to-vanquishing-the-common-cold/#. 

This article details the discovery of a protein that may be essential to the function of viruses such as the Common Cold. The SETD3 protein is found in the human body and plays a role in Actin methylation, a process that allows smooth muscles to contract during childbirth. However, certain viruses have found a way to use the protein to create copies of themselves inside their host cell. This means that the removal of the protein should prevent these viruses from taking over the host organism.

In a study, microbiologist Jan Carette and his team investigated the dependence of viruses on the SETD3 protein. They created cells that lacked the protein and found that viruses were a thousand times less effective at replicating inside the protein-deficient cells compared to the control cells. This was true for all seven types of human enteroviruses that were tested.

This discovery means that turning off the SETD3 gene may be an effective way to target viruses in the human body. However, the SETD3 protein may have uses that scientists may not have yet discovered, and removing the protein from human cells may have very serious unforeseen side effects. Mice from which the protein was removed had difficulty giving birth, for example. If the protein has other functions, completely removing it may be detrimental to the health of the subject. Instead, a possible alternative would be to reduce its presence by an amount that would preserve its functionality while inhibiting the replication of viruses within the host. However, the only way to determine if this is true would be through a human trial.

The information in this article was presented in a way that provided many important details while being relatively easy to follow for those who are not scientifically inclined. Although the names of proteins, genes and viruses are listed, the big picture is made clear to the reader regardless of their understanding of biology. However, the article would have been even easier to understand if the author had included images or diagrams of the proteins or viruses which they mentioned. The transition from a broad summary of the issue to more technical terms is smoothly implemented and easy to understand.