Gene Study Gives Clues to Dengue Fever

Researchers have found mosquito and human genes that help dengue fever to cause infection and to grow. They said this finding could lead to new drugs against the tropical disease. The research began with fruit flies, because they are similar to mosquitoes but more often studied. Scientists turned off, or “silenced,” fly genes, one by one. This allowed them to find 116 genes that helped dengue cause infection and grow. These genes are known as host factors. Then researchers tried turning off the genes in mosquitoes. Turning off one particular gene made it much harder for dengue to infect the mosquitoes. Researchers also found similar genes in human cells. The study was published April 23 in the journal Nature.