A new medication created by US researchers can turn the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus against itself, shielding people from contracting the disease.
The medicine, NMT5, is expected to be effective against the newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variations, according to experts from The Scripps Research Institute.
The medication coats SARS-CoV-2 with compounds that can momentarily change the human ACE2 receptor, the molecule the virus typically binds to in order to infect cells. It was disclosed in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
The ACE2 receptor blocks the virus’s entry into human cells when it is nearby. However, the researchers found that ACE2 can continue to operate normally in the absence of the virus.
Stuart Lipton, a professor at The Scripps Research Institute and the study’s principal author, said: “What’s so neat about this medicine is that we’re literally turning the virus against itself.”
The research team examined a library of substances and identified NMT5 as having two crucial characteristics: it could identify and bind to a pore on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and chemically alter human ACE2 using a nitroglycerin warhead.
The scientists realised this might make the virus a means of self-destruction.
They examined and tested NMT5 in both animals and isolated cells. The research demonstrated how NMT5 firmly adheres to SARS-CoV-2 viral particles as the viruses circulate within the body.
The details of how the medicine adds a chemical, akin to nitroglycerin, to specific molecules if it comes close enough were then made public by the researchers. NMT5 adds a “nitro group” on the receptor when the virus is close enough to ACE2 to infect a cell. This changes the structure of ACE2 briefly, for around 12 hours, making it impossible for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to connect to it and infect cells.
“What’s really lovely is that this just reduces ACE2 availability locally while the virus is attacking it,” said the researcher. ACE2 continues to work normally in other parts of the body since it isn’t completely shut off, according to Lipton.
The medication blocked 95% of viral binding in cell culture tests measuring how efficiently the Omicron form of SARS-CoV-2 can bind to human ACE2 receptors.
According to the researchers, NMT5 significantly reduced viral levels in hamsters with COVID-19, reversed blood vessel damage in the animals’ lungs, and reduced inflammation.
They said that the medicine demonstrated efficacy against more than a dozen other viral variations, including the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta strains.
The majority of anti-viral medications function by specifically inhibiting a virus, which can force it to develop treatment resistance.
The researchers believe that the medication will likely be successful against many more SARS-CoV-2 variations because NMT5 is simply using the virus as a carrier.
Because it doesn’t rely on fighting portions of the virus that frequently evolve, Chang-ki Oh, a senior staff scientist and the study’s primary author, predicted that the drug would remain effective even as new varieties emerged.
Even though the molecule has only been investigated in animal models, the researchers are currently developing a medication version to test for human use while doing additional safety and efficacy studies in animals.
(source : PTI)
