Originally Posted by
Dubbag
From the RTE web site....This I think is the way forward.......
Scientists believe they may have discovered a new way to combat the Covid-19 virus.
An international team from Bristol University believes that small molecule anti-viral drugs could be developed to help stop the virus from infecting human cells.
Sars-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19.
The scientists have found a "druggable" pocket within a Sars-CoV-2 spike protein which they hope could lead to new anti-viral drugs to shut down and eliminate the virus before it enters human cells.
They describe the findings, published in the Science journal, as a potential "game changer" in defeating the current pandemic.Spike proteins, which are on the surface of the virus, are a key element for infections of the human cells.
The researchers found a small molecule, linoleic acid, buried in a tailor-made pocket within the spike protein.
Linoleic acid (LA) is a free fatty acid, which is needed for many cellular functions and cannot be produced by the human body.
LA plays a ***** role in inflammation and immunity levels, and it is also needed to maintain cell membranes in the lungs to help people breathe properly."The question now is how to turn this new knowledge against the virus itself and defeat the pandemic."
The team used a powerful imaging technique, called an electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), to analyse the Sars-CoV-2 spike.
A 3D structure of the Sars CoV-2 spike protein was generated allowing the researchers to peer deep inside the spike and identify its molecular composition.
The researchers spotted LA in a pocket within the spike protein. Prof Berger described the research team as having been "truly puzzled" by the discovery and its implications.Prof Berger said: "So here we have LA, a molecule which is at the centre of those functions that go haywire in Covid-19 patients, with terrible consequences.
"And the virus that is causing all this chaos, according to our data, grabs and holds on to exactly this molecule - basically disarming much of the body's defences."
The team have found hope from previous studies on the rhinovirus, which is a virus that causes the common cold.
They said that a similar pocket was exploited to develop potent small molecules which were successfully used as anti-viral drugs in human trials in a clinic.
The Bristol team hope a similar strategy can now be used to develop small molecule anti-viral drugs against Sars-CoV-2.
The team included experts from Bristol UNCOVER Group, Bristol biotech Imophoron Ltd, the Max Planck Institute for Biomedical Research in Heidelberg, Germany and Geneva Biotech S*rl, Switzerland.
From RTE web site...
