Scientists at the Johns Hopkins medical school have discovered a protein that is essential for the assembly of the Epstein-Barr virus, an important advance that might help researchers design new antiviral drugs to treat EBV and other related herpesviruses.

A team at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, led by virologist Prashant Desai, has been studying capsids, the protein shell of viruses. “Most of our studies have been on herpes simplex virus capsids,” Desai said.

“The herpesvirus capsids are made up of six proteins that interact together to produce an icosahedral structure. The capsid proteins have an inherent ability to self-assemble into these structures if expressed together.” An icosahedron is a solid object with 20 sides.

Source: http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2009/02/19/Science/Structure.Of.Viral.Shell.Is.Determined-3639566.shtml