Researchers are developing chewing gum to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection | Health

A team of researchers has developed a chewing gum that is a mixture of plant-grown proteins. SARS-CoV-2 You can reduce the virus and its infection.

This study was published in the “Molecular Therapy Journal”.

Led by Henry Daniel of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry and in collaboration with scientists at the Perelman Medical College and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and the Wistar Institute and Fraunhofer USA, this study could lead to low-cost tools. .. COVID-19 In the arsenal against the pandemic.

“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands. When an infected person sneezes, coughs, or speaks, we know that the virus can be shed and infect others. I know, “says Daniel.

Read again: Covid-19: When and where is the risk of infection high?

“This gum provides an opportunity to neutralize the virus in saliva and gives us an easy way to reduce the source of the disease,” he added.

Vaccination COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) Helped to divert the pandemic, but did not negate the transmission. Even fully vaccinated people can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and, according to recent studies, can carry the same viral load as unvaccinated people.

Prior to the pandemic, Daniel was studying the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein in the context of treating hypertension. In his lab, he used a patented plant-based production system to grow this protein, as well as many other potentially therapeutic proteins. By colliding the DNA of the target protein with the plant material, they induced the chloroplasts of the plant to take up the DNA and initiate protein growth. Lyophilized and ground plant materials can be used as a means of delivering protein. This system can avoid the usual obstacles to protein drug synthesis: expensive manufacturing and purification processes.

Previous studies of Daniel’s ACE2 proved to be a coincidence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ACE2 receptor on human cells also happened to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Other research groups have shown that injections of ACE2 can reduce viral load in people with severe infections.

Meanwhile, another study by Daniel and Penn Dental Colleague Hyun (Michel) Kuu has been involved in the development of chewing gum infused with plant-grown proteins to destroy plaque. rice field. Daniel wondered if such a gum infused with plant-grown ACE2 protein could neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in the oral cavity, combining this technique with insights into ACE2.

To find out, he contacted Ronald Colman of Penn Medicine. He is a virologist and lung and emergency physician who has been collecting blood, nasal swabs, saliva, and other biological samples from COVID patients since the early stages of the pandemic. Scientific research.

“Henry can contact me to internally verify if there is a sample to test his approach, the appropriate sample type to test, and the level of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the saliva sample. I asked, “Mr. Colman said.

“It led to collaboration between schools based on our microbiota research,” he added.

To test chewing gum, the team grew ACE2 in plants, combined it with another compound that allowed the protein to cross the mucosal barrier and promote binding, and combined the resulting plant material with cinnamon-flavored gum tablets. Incorporated in. Incubating a sample from a nasopharyngeal swab in a COVID-positive patient with the gums showed that ACE2 present can neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Following these initial investigations, the Wistar Institute and the University of Penvenia have modified viruses that are less pathogenic than SARS-CoV-2 to express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Scientists have observed that the gum significantly prevents the entry of viruses or virus particles into cells by blocking ACE2 receptors on cells or by binding directly to peplomer proteins.

Finally, the team exposed saliva samples from COVID-19 patients to ACE2 gum and found that their levels of viral RNA dropped dramatically and were almost undetectable.

The research team is currently working to obtain permission to conduct clinical trials to assess whether the approach is safe and effective when tested in people infected with SARS-CoV-2. ..

“Henry’s approach of making proteins from plants and using them orally is cheap and hopefully scalable. It’s really smart,” Colman said.

Research is still in its infancy, but if clinical trials prove that the gums are safe and effective, they can be given to patients with unknown infections or to dental examinations where the mask must be removed. You can do it. Reduces the chances of the virus infecting caregivers.

“We are already using masks and other physical barriers to reduce the chance of infection,” Daniel said.

“This gum could be used as an additional tool in the fight,” he concluded.

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