Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Nov 09, 2025 2 hours, 2 minutes ago
Medical News: Scientists uncover a new way to weaken the mpox (monkeypox) virus by targeting its energy hijacking process
A new study by researchers from Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Third People’s Hospital, and the Changchun Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has shed light on how the mpox virus manipulates human cells to fuel its growth. The research found that the virus hijacks a key cellular energy process known as aerobic glycolysis—a mechanism often exploited by cancer cells—to reproduce more efficiently. According to this
Medical News report, scientists discovered that by blocking a particular protein modification process called lysine crotonylation, they could disrupt this viral energy hijacking and stop the virus from multiplying.
Blocking Lysine Crotonylation Could Stop Mpox Virus
The virus’s hidden energy strategy
The mpox virus (MPXV), which caused major outbreaks in 2022 and 2024, uses a viral protein known as I3 to boost energy production inside infected cells. Normally, cells convert glucose into energy through a balanced process, but MPXV forces the cell to switch into “overdrive” mode, rapidly breaking down glucose and releasing lactate—a hallmark of aerobic glycolysis. This shift provides the virus with abundant energy and materials for replication. The study revealed that I3 undergoes a chemical modification called lysine crotonylation at a specific site, lysine 102. This modification is carried out by an enzyme called MYST1, which helps stabilize another protein, WDR26, preventing its degradation. Together, these interactions promote continuous energy generation, creating an ideal environment for the virus to thrive.
Breaking the virus’s energy loop
To stop the mpox virus from exploiting this mechanism, the scientists tested compounds that interfere with the crotonylation process and glycolysis. When they used MC4033, a drug that blocks MYST1, viral replication dropped sharply. Likewise, treatments with 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and dichloroacetic acid (DCA)—two well-known glycolysis inhibitors—significantly reduced viral reproduction. These results suggest that blocking lysine crotonylation and aerobic glycolysis could become a powerful therapeutic approach against mpox.
What makes this discovery important
This research not only explains how mpox manipulates host metabolism but also points toward a completely new category of antiviral strategies. Instead of directly attacking the virus’s genetic material, this method targets the metabolic interactions the virus depends on. It also raises possibilities that similar metabolic hijacking might occur in other poxviruses or even in unrelated viral infections. As global health systems remain alert to potential mpox re-emergence, these insights could help develop safer and more effective antiviral drugs in the near future.
Final insights
The study’s authors emphasized that while vac
cines and drugs like tecovirimat exist, they provide only limited protection. By understanding how the mpox virus reprograms host metabolism through MYST1 and lysine crotonylation, scientists can now focus on designing inhibitors that block these viral tricks. This could pave the way for more precise, broad-spectrum antivirals that work across different viral families.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Advanced Science
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202509148
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Medical News.
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/monkeypox
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