DW BUREAU / NEW DELHI A new hope for cure in treatment of Rabies has been raised as Indian scientists have identified certain proteins that have a role in progress of infection in dog's brain at the molecular level. A team of researchers led by Dr Amol Ratnakar Suryawanshi, head of the Clinical Proteomics and Proteoinformatics at DBT-Institute of Life Sciences, found 19 proteins that may have a role in the infection. Out of these, nine showed lower expression and ten higher expression in the brain of dogs infected with Rabiesvirus compared to control samples. "The study has provided a list of molecules that may be involved in Rabies virus infection and has given some insight into the molecular pathophysiology involved in this infection. It was helpful to understand more about molecules involved in Rabies virus infection and also an aid in designing strategies to combat this viral infection in both humans and animals," Dr Suryawanshi told Indian Science Wire. "However, further experiments are needed to investigate the role of the various identified proteins in the molecular mechanism of the Rabies virus infection. The experiments are underway," he added. Scientists looking for proteins responsible infection picked dog's brain since 99 per cent Rabies infection is caused by dog bites. The elusive virus remains dormant from 20 to 90 days after entering into human body, without showing any clinical symptom. When symptoms do emerge, infection has already spread so much that there is almost no time for any effective treatment. Death occurs within two to seven days. Fatality is almost 100 percent. (editor@dailyworld.in)