Antiviral Drugs Used to Treat Coronavirus Infection in Cats May Be Effective Against SARS-CoV-2, Research Says

A group of researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, found that the prodrug GC376, used to treat the potentially fatal feline coronavirus, is effective against the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. Insist that there is.

Prodrugs are compounds that need to be metabolized in the body before they become active. GC376 is converted to GC373.

Studies published in peer-reviewed journals Natural communicationSaid that this drug targets an enzyme called Mpro of the virus that causes COVID-19 and has already been shown to be effective in animals, making it a strong drug candidate for the treatment of coronavirus disease. Suggests.

The research team plans to begin Phase I clinical trials for this drug soon.

Cat Coronavirus (FCoV)

The feline coronavirus FCoV is a common infectious disease that affects approximately 25-40% of domestic cats worldwide. The virus enters the cat’s body by the oral route (like licking) and propagates in the intestine. Cats shed the virus in their feces, and the virus can survive for up to several weeks. Antiseptics easily destroy the coronavirus in cats.

Most cats that get this infection are asymptomatic. However, it can cause mild diarrhea, or it can lead to a life-threatening condition called infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats. The latter occurs only when the FCoV virus infects macrophages (a type of immune system cell) and produces a mutant strain in the cat’s intestinal tract that spreads throughout the body.

FCoV is an alpha coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 is a beta coronavirus. The former does not cause infection in humans, but there are some cases in which scientists discovered SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in cats.

Protease inhibitors and the latest drugs

Proteases are enzymes that are essential for cell function. Protease inhibitors are one of the most common classes of drugs considered for treating disease when they are of low toxicity. Proteases such as tipranavir have been used to treat HIV. Other HIV drugs such as lopinavir and ritonavir are also proteases.

Mpro is a protease present in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that helps the virus replicate and make its own copy. This protease had previously been suggested to be resistant to mutations, so many experts were looking for inhibitors that could block the function of the Mpro protease.

Various other Mpro inhibitors Ebselen, Investigational drug for hearing loss and DisulfiramThe drugs used to treat alcohol dependence have previously been shown to be effective against the virus that causes COVID-19.

GC376 has previously been proposed to have broad specificity for the novel coronavirus Mpro. To study the effect of this drug on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers exposed the virus to the drug in cell culture.

Upon incubation with SARS-CoV-2, it was found that GC376 was converted to GC373, which binds to the active site of Mpro protease and inhibits protease function. The active site of an enzyme is the pocket of the enzyme to which the substrate (the compound on which the enzyme acts) binds.

“We determined the three-dimensional shape of the protease that holds the drug in the active site pocket and showed a mechanism of inhibition. This allows us to develop more effective drugs.” Joanne Lemu, Associate Professor of Research and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, Canada news release at University.

She also added that the team will continue to look for modified versions of this drug that better fit the active site of Mpro and are therefore more effective.

For more information on the types of coronaviruses, Coronavirus infection..

The Firstpost Health article was created by myUpchar.com, India’s first and largest resource for validated healthcare information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to provide all health information.