๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ’๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ “๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป’๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐,” #๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฌ.
Hepatitis E, less spoken about than the B and C variants, is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). It is shed in the stools of infected persons and enters the human body through the intestine, most commonly by drinking HEV-contaminated drinking water.ย
There are four main types of HEV; referred to as genotypes 1, 2, 3, and 4, with genotypes 1 and 2 only being found in humans and genotypes 3 and 4 being found primarily in animals but, on occasions, in humans. HEV resulting from the consumption of contaminated water causes mostly a genotype 1 infection and much less frequently a genotype 2 infection. Hepatitis E infection is unusual in regions with improved sanitation and water supply, the majority of these cases are caused by genotype 3 virus and are caused by infection with virus originating in animals, generally through the consumption of raw meat, particularly pork.
CoCID is an EU-funded project, initiated by SiriusXT, whose major objective is to demonstrate the benefits of using soft x-ray microscopy as a research tool to assist virologists in understanding the intracellular phases of viral reproduction as well as to develop treatments to inhibit virus spread. Hepatitis-E is one of the virus use cases being addressed by project CoCID, with this research being led by Dr. Nicola Fletcher, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Bioscience at University College Dublin.
A key focus of Dr. Fletcherโs research is to develop model systems that mimic the features of livers in the laboratory. Her team is currently developing liver organoids, which are 3D spherical ‘mini livers’, to better understand how HEV infects both pig and human liver cells.
”CoCID employs soft x-ray microscopy to bridge the current gap between light and electron microscopy and will serve as an interface for correlative studies”, said Dr. Fletcher.