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.'
Publication: Denisa
Bojkova, Rui Costa, Philipp Reus, Marco Bechtel, Mark-Christian Jaboreck, Ruth
Olmer, Ulrich Martin, Sandra Ciesek, Martin Michaelis, Jindrich Cinatl, Jr.: Targeting the pentose phosphate pathway for
SARS-CoV-2 therapy. In: Metabolites 2021, 11(10), 699;
Background
information: Cell culture model: several compounds
stop SARS-CoV-2 virus. Frankfurt researchers discover potential targets for
COVID-19 therapy
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