A protein binds to the new coronavirus and blocks infection

　　Science and Technology Daily News (Reporter Liu Xia) Australian scientists published a paper in the latest issue of "American Public Library of Science Biology" that they discovered a protein LRRC15 in human lungs. This new receptor can interact with The new coronavirus binds to block its infection and forms a natural protective barrier in the human body.

This discovery provides a new way for scientists to develop new drugs to prevent new coronavirus infection or to deal with lung fibrosis.

　　The study is one of three separate papers that shed light on the interaction between leucine-rich repeat protein 15 (LRRC15) and COVID-19.

Greg Neely, co-author of the study and a scientist at the University of Sydney, said: "Together with two other teams, we found that LRRC15 reduces infection by binding to the new coronavirus and sequestering the virus. We can use this new receptor to design broad-spectrum drugs. , thereby blocking viral infection and even inhibiting pulmonary fibrosis."

　　The new coronavirus infects humans by attaching to the specific receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on human cells through the spike protein. There are high levels of ACE2 receptors in lung cells, which is why the lungs of patients with new coronary pneumonia are prone to cause of severe illness.

Like ACE2, LRRC15 is also a coronavirus receptor, which means it binds to the virus.

But unlike ACE2, LRRC5 does not support infection, so it can bind to the virus and immobilize it, preventing other susceptible cells from becoming infected in the process.

　　LRRC15 is present in multiple parts of the body, such as the lung, skin, tongue, fibroblasts, placenta and lymph nodes.

But the researchers found that after the lungs were infected with the new coronavirus, more LRRC15 "surfaced."

　　According to the research team, LRRC15 may be part of the body's natural response to infection by forming a barrier that physically separates the virus from the lung cells to which it is most sensitive.

The discovery could help scientists develop new antiviral and antifibrotic drugs.

They are using LRRC15 to develop two strategies to combat COVID-19: a preventive treatment targeting the nose; and a treatment targeting the lungs of critically ill patients.