A dope pocket on its roof ... a British discovery could "change the rules for the fight against Corona"
A team of scientists at a British university believes that they have made a "game-changing" discovery in the fight against Corona virus.
Researchers at the University of Bristol described their study as "pioneering", and they hope it can "stop the virus in its course."
According to the "Mirror" newspaper.
The team was chaired by Professor Christian Schawitzel of the School of Biochemistry in Bristol, and Professor Emery Berger of the Max Planck Center for Lesser Biology in Bristol.
They discovered what they described as a "anesthetic pocket" on the surface of the virus, which could be injected with anti-viral drugs, to prevent it from working before it entered more human cells.
They found that the Corona virus uses a small molecule called linoleic acid (LA) to bind together and spread.
As a result, the team believes there is now a way to disrupt that binding fat, and possibly make the virus non-infectious.
"Russia Today" quoted Professor Berger as saying: "We have here LA, which is a molecule at the center of those jobs that falter in patients with" Covid-19 ", with dire consequences. And the virus that causes all this chaos, according to our data, catches this molecule And hold it - basically disarms many of the body's defenses. "
He added, "Our discovery provides the first direct link between LA, the pathological manifestations of" Covid-19 ", and the virus itself. The question now is how to transform this new knowledge against the virus itself and defeat the epidemic."
Professor Schawitzl said that there is reason for hope - scientists discovered a similar pocket in the rhinovirus, and were able to prevent infection of this virus.
She explained that the Bristol team is optimistic that a similar strategy can now be used to develop small-molecule anti-viral drugs against SARS CoV-2.
"Among other diseases, we know that tampering with LA pathways can lead to inflammation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and pneumonia. If we look at HIV, after 30 years of research, what worked in the end was a combination of small molecules of drugs," she said. "Our discovery of a therapeutic pocket inside the SARS-CoV-2" spike "protein, which can lead to new anti-viral drugs to stop the virus and eliminate it before it enters human cells, stopping it strongly in its paths."
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