Scientists map how the flu virus rewires the human cell from the inside - Phys.org

What the report says

Phys.Org reported on July 20, 2026, that researchers at EMBL Hamburg, working with collaborators at the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology and other institutions, have produced a detailed map of how influenza A alters human cells during infection. The work, published in Nature Microbiology, examined protein-to-protein contacts inside infected cells rather than after the cells were broken apart, a limitation of many earlier methods.

The team used a tailored form of cross-linking mass spectrometry for virus-infected cells, combined with computational structural modeling using a modified AlphaFold approach. According to the report, this allowed researchers to identify which viral and host proteins interacted and to model how parts of those proteins came together inside intact cells. The study focused on a lab-adapted influenza strain and captured a particular stage of infection, rather than the full infection cycle.

Phys.Org highlighted two findings. One concerned hemagglutinin, the viral surface protein involved in cell entry, whose processing through the host cell’s internal transport system appeared to depend on several host proteins. The other involved paraspeckles, small compartments in the cell nucleus. The researchers found that influenza A infection caused these structures to dissolve, potentially making RNA-binding proteins available for viral replication and possibly affecting cellular stress or antiviral responses.

The findings matter because influenza causes severe disease worldwide, and influenza A has been linked to past pandemics. The researchers said the approach could help identify future drug targets and may be adaptable to other viruses, including strains of pandemic concern, though further work would be needed to test those applications.