Scientists at have uncovered important new information about a key protein that allows viruses such as smallpox to replicate, wreak havoc on the immune system and work to subvert our immune system.  The research explores the interferon-gamma binding protein found in the mousepox virus – one of the family of viruses that also includes smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox, and found that it is notorious for helping the virus replicate.  Normally when a virus enters the bloodstream, the immune system responds by producing a substance called interferon-gamma, which assists the development of the immune response that’s responsible for ridding the body of the virus. Poxviruses, however, all come encoded with a potent weapon to evade the immune system: interferon-gamma binding protein. As its name implies, the protein literally binds to interferon-gamma and immobilizes it, preventing it from marshalling the immune system’s defenses. The poxvirus is then able to replicate and cause immense damage.  Decoding the molecular structure and function of this binding protein will have tremendous impact in the development of drugs for various immunologic and inflammatory disease, such as atherosclerotic heart disease, Inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.