The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the biggest and most rapid mobilisation of the scientific realm globally. Almost three years into the pandemic, the world has not found a cure still. But researchers around the world have been working around the clock to discover a solution with the help of governments, universities, the pharmaceutical sector and more. In the same light, a group of researchers from Penn state have found a possible way to fight the coronavirus disease.
According to the study published in the journal Communications Biology, some FDA-approved medications, such as those for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV, may be able to inhibit the ability of the Delta strain to reproduce in human cells.
Drugs Used For Various Diseases Could Help Fight COVID
Scientists discovered that these medications suppress viral enzymes called proteases that are required for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected human cells. Joyce Jose, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, Penn State said, “The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines target the spike protein, but this protein is under strong selection pressure and, as we have seen with Omicron, can undergo significant mutations. There remains an urgent need for SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic agents that target parts of the virus other than the spike protein that is not as likely to evolve.”
Two SARS-CoV-2 enzymes, proteases Mpro and PLpro, have previously been identified as promising targets for antiviral medication development.
According to Jose, these enzymes are very stable, therefore drug-resistant mutations are unlikely to rise quickly. Because of their ability to cleave, or cut proteins, these virus proteases are required for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected cells, according to Katsuhiko Murakami, a Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.
SARS-CoV-2 generates lengthy proteins termed polyproteins from its RNA genome, which must be broken into individual proteins by these proteases in an orderly manner to produce functional viral enzymes and proteins to begin virus reproduction once it enters a cell, Murakami further explained. He added, “If you inhibit one of these proteases, further spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the infected person could be stopped.”
(With inputs with agencies)
