A simple spray of a nasal spray to eradicate the coronavirus in the event of infection or high-risk contact? This might soon be a reality, thanks to a team of Belgian scientists!
For two years, the team of David Alsteens, researcher at the Institute of Biomolecular Sciences and Technologies of UCLouvain, has been working to understand the precise mechanisms, at the molecular level, used by the virus to infect a cell. Their findings, a world first, were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
The virus “blocked” at the entrance of the cell
The researchers were thus able to elucidate the process of cell infection by SARS-CoV-2. To do this, they investigated the interaction between sialic acids (AS), kinds of sugar residues present on the surface of cells, and the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2.
The sugar residues that decorate the cells have the function of promoting their recognition, thus allowing viruses in particular to more easily identify their targets, but also to facilitate their point of attachment and infection.
“You should know that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is equipped with a series of spike proteins, resembling suction cups, which allow it to cling to cells and then enter them”, explains David Alsteens to the newspaper The evening. “We have discovered that a variant of these sugars interacts more strongly with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 than the others…” In short: his team has found the bunch of keys that allows viruses to open the door of cells.
The researchers then decided to catch the virus in its own trap, preventing it from clinging to its host cell. To do this, they blocked the attachment points of the S protein and therefore eliminated any interaction with the cell surface, as if a padlock blocked the lock of the entry door to the cell.
“For this to work, it will obviously be necessary to ensure that the interaction between the virus and the blocking agent is stronger than that between the virus and the cell. In this way, we will be able to avoid infection,” adds the researcher.
Effective with new variants
The UCLouvain team has launched the first tests on mice, with encouraging results. Clinical trials on Covid patients will follow. Within a few months, therefore, the results should make it possible to develop an antiviral in the form of an aerosol. With an enormous advantage to their discovery: it acts on the virus, independently of the mutations. Even better: “it should even work even better with the new variants!” », rejoices David Alsteens.
