EurekAlert -- Hamilton, ON (March 25, 2010) – For many years it’s been known that the fever, achiness and other symptoms you feel during the flu are triggered by a viral molecule that travels through the body acting like a toxin. But what scientists haven’t understood is how this molecule – known as double-stranded RNA – is recognized and taken up by cells. New research from McMaster University has identified how specific proteins on the surface of cells, known as class A scavenger receptors, bind to double-stranded RNA and bring it into the cell, jumpstarting the immune response to a virus.
