Researchers have identified a potential new treatment that suppresses the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
In order to multiply, all viruses, including coronaviruses, infect cells and reprogramme them to produce novel viruses.
The research revealed that cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 can only produce novel coronaviruses when their metabolic pentose phosphate pathway is activated.
When applying the drug benfooxythiamine, an inhibitor of this pathway, SARS-CoV-2 replication was suppressed and infected cells did not produce coronaviruses.
The research from the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences and the Institute of Medical Virology at Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, found the drug also increased the antiviral activity of ‘2-deoxy-D-glucose’; a drug which modifies the host cell’s metabolism to reduce virus multiplication.
This shows that pentose phosphate pathway inhibitors like benfooxythiamine are a potential new treatment option for COVID-19, both on their own and in combination with other treatments.
Additionally, Benfooxythiamin’s antiviral mechanism differs from that of other COVID-19 drugs such as remdesivir and molnupiravir. Therefore, viruses resistant to these may be sensitive to benfooxythiamin.
Professor Martin Michaelis, University of Kent, said: ‘This is a breakthrough in the research of COVID-19 treatment. Since resistance development is a big problem in the treatment of viral diseases, having therapies that use different targets is very important and provides further hope for developing the most effective treatments for COVID-19.’
Professor Jindrich Cinatl, Goethe-University Frankfurt, said: ‘Targeting virus-induced changes in the host cell metabolism is an attractive way to interfere specifically with the virus replication process.’
The study ‘Targeting the pentose phosphate pathway for SARS-CoV-2 therapy’ is published by the scientific journal Metabolites (Professor Martin Michaelis – University of Kent; Dr Denisa Bojkova, Philipp Reus, Marco Bechtel, Professor Sandra Ciesek, Professor Jindrich Cinatl – Goethe University Frankfurt; Dr Rui Costa – University of Copenhagen; Mark-Christian Jaboreck, Dr Ruth Olmer, Professor Ulrich Martin – Hannover Medical School).
URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/10/699
DOI: 10.3390/metabo11100699
University of Kent’s School of Biosciences:
Professor Martin Michaelis.
Goethe University Frankfurt:
Dr Denisa Bojkova, Philipp Reus, Marco Bechtel, Professor Sandra Ciesek, Professor Jindrich Cinatl.JOURNAL
Metabolites
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Cells
ARTICLE TITLE
Targeting the Pentose Phosphate Pathway for SARS-CoV-2 Therapy
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
13-Oct-2021
Source: Potential new treatment for COVID-19 identified