Invasion to the inside

In order to multiply, influenza viruses are dependent on cells of a human or animal body. They board those cells, for example all along the lung surface, and their genetic material migrates into the nucleus, where it is replicated. As a result, new viruses come to life. A team led by scientists from the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (CiM), University of Münster, has now, for the first time, succeeded in visualizing structures of the viral genome inside of human cells by light microscopy. With these great insights, the team gains knowledge about how the influenza viruses knock out the immune response of the cells. The results suggest that the virus particle invades the cell "with pulled out weapon" and so suppresses the important immune response of the human body. The helical virus genome is split into eight segments that could be imaged by light microscopy now.