Instead of targeting the coronavirus with experimental drugs, UK researchers are trying a new approach.
They are targeting infected cells to attempt to repair damage inflicted by the virus and prevent it from spreading.
To make copies of itself, or replicate, inside infected cells, the virus activates a cellular response called the “unfolded protein response,” explained Nerea Irigoyen of the University of Cambridge.
In laboratory experiments, the researchers inhibited activation of this cellular response using experimental drugs.
As a result, virus replication was prevented, according to a report published on Thursday in PLoS Pathogens.
The unfolded protein response in infected cells “might be responsible at least to some extent” for some of the complications associated with COVID-19, such as respiratory distress and thickening and scarring of lung tissues, Irigoyen said. The approach must still be tested in animals and humans.
But the research team is hoping that drugs that block the unfolded-protein response will not only reduce patients’ viral burden but also relieve some of the symptoms associated with the infection.
“This means that patients might have a better outcome and recover in less time,” Irigoyen said.
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