Potential New Treatment That Suppresses Replication of SARS-CoV-2 Could Be a Breakthrough in COVID-19 Therapy
By HospiMedica International staff writers Posted on 01 Nov 2021 |
Researchers have identified a potential new treatment that suppresses the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Research by scientists at the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences (Canterbury, UK) and the Institute of Medical Virology at Goethe-University (Frankfurt, Germany) revealed that cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 can only produce novel coronaviruses when their metabolic pentose phosphate pathway is activated. When applying the drug benfooxythiamine, an inhibitor of this pathway, SARS-CoV-2 replication was suppressed and infected cells did not produce coronaviruses.
The researchers found that the drug also increased the antiviral activity of ‘2-deoxy-D-glucose’; a drug which modifies the host cell’s metabolism to reduce virus multiplication. This shows that pentose phosphate pathway inhibitors like benfooxythiamine are a potential new treatment option for COVID-19, both on their own and in combination with other treatments. Additionally, Benfooxythiamin’s antiviral mechanism differs from that of other COVID-19 drugs such as remdesivir and molnupiravir. Therefore, viruses resistant to these may be sensitive to benfooxythiamin.
“This is a breakthrough in the research of COVID-19 treatment,” said Professor Martin Michaelis, Kent’s School of Biosciences. “Since resistance development is a big problem in the treatment of viral diseases, having therapies that use different targets is very important and provides further hope for developing the most effective treatments for COVID-19.”
“Targeting virus-induced changes in the host cell metabolism is an attractive way to interfere specifically with the virus replication process,” added Professor Jindrich Cinatl, Goethe-University Frankfurt.
Related Links:
University of Kent
Goethe-University
Latest COVID-19 News
- Low-Cost System Detects SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Hospital Air Using High-Tech Bubbles
- World's First Inhalable COVID-19 Vaccine Approved in China
- COVID-19 Vaccine Patch Fights SARS-CoV-2 Variants Better than Needles
- Blood Viscosity Testing Can Predict Risk of Death in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
- ‘Covid Computer’ Uses AI to Detect COVID-19 from Chest CT Scans
- MRI Lung-Imaging Technique Shows Cause of Long-COVID Symptoms
- Chest CT Scans of COVID-19 Patients Could Help Distinguish Between SARS-CoV-2 Variants
- Specialized MRI Detects Lung Abnormalities in Non-Hospitalized Long COVID Patients
- AI Algorithm Identifies Hospitalized Patients at Highest Risk of Dying From COVID-19
- Sweat Sensor Detects Key Biomarkers That Provide Early Warning of COVID-19 and Flu
- Study Assesses Impact of COVID-19 on Ventilation/Perfusion Scintigraphy
- CT Imaging Study Finds Vaccination Reduces Risk of COVID-19 Associated Pulmonary Embolism
- Third Day in Hospital a ‘Tipping Point’ in Severity of COVID-19 Pneumonia
- Longer Interval Between COVID-19 Vaccines Generates Up to Nine Times as Many Antibodies
- AI Model for Monitoring COVID-19 Predicts Mortality Within First 30 Days of Admission
- AI Predicts COVID Prognosis at Near-Expert Level Based Off CT Scans