How do virus factories in infected cells function?

When certain viruses hijack our cells, they form molecular factories inside the cell that mass-produce new viruses. Wallenberg Academy Fellow Max Renner will map what these viral factories look like and how they work. The goal is to develop strategies for switching off the virus production and preventing the virus from spreading further.

Dr Max Renner, Umeå University, is studying the human metapneumovirus (HMPV), which can cause serious respiratory infections in frail elderly people and young children. Globally, this virus causes around half a million children to be hospitalized every year. It belongs to the Mononegavirales, a group of viruses that also includes ones that cause Ebola, measles and rabies.

Renner’s research aims to understand how HMPV creates tiny viral factories inside our cells. These factories are fundamental to the virus’s ability to multiply and spread, but researchers have little knowledge about how they function.

Max Renner will study viral factories using cryogenic electron microscopy, a method that can create three-dimensional images of what the factories look like inside the cell. He will also use AI and methods from molecular biology to map how the factories are organized and how they evolve during an infection. The project’s purpose is to find ways to eradicate the production of viruses and prevent new harmful viruses from forming.

Photo: Patrik Lundin