May 2, 2024

Scientists Design a Molecule With Great Potential for Treatment of COVID-19

Uppsala researchers have actually been successful in designing a molecule that hinders the duplication of coronaviruses and that has terrific potential for advancement into a drug appropriate for treating COVID-19. The particle is effective versus both the brand-new variant and formerly identified coronaviruses. The idea is to design a particle with the ability to recognize and bind to the enzyme. They used computer system designs to determine molecules that can inhibit the enzymes activity.

In 2020, researchers at Uppsala University, in collaboration with the Drug discovery and Development platform at Scilifelab, started to evaluate for inhibitors of the enzyme. They utilized computer designs to determine molecules that can hinder the enzymes activity. This showed to be a quick way to discover beginning points for the design of pharmaceuticals. Access to Swedish supercomputers has made it possible to examine numerous hundred million different particles to find those that can bind to the enzyme. The molecules predicted by the models were then manufactured and checked in experiments.
” The most promising particle shows the same ability to hinder the duplication of the new coronavirus as the active substance in Paxlovid, a mix drug just recently approved for dealing with COVID-19. Our particle works well by itself, and we have actually revealed that the molecule is likewise reliable against formerly determined variants of the coronavirus,” states Jens Carlsson, associate professor and the short articles lead author.
Referral: “Ultralarge Virtual Screening Identifies SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors with Broad-Spectrum Activity against Coronaviruses” by Andreas Luttens, Hjalmar Gullberg, Eldar Abdurakhmanov, Duy Duc Vo, Dario Akaberi, Vladimir O. Talibov, Natalia Nekhotiaeva, Laura Vangeel, Steven De Jonghe, Dirk Jochmans, Janina Krambrich, Ali Tas, Bo Lundgren, Ylva Gravenfors, Alexander J. Craig, Yoseph Atilaw, Anja Sandström, Lindon W. K. Moodie, Åke Lundkvist, Martijn J. van Hemert, Johan Neyts, Johan Lennerstrand, Jan Kihlberg, Kristian Sandberg, U. Helena Danielson and Jens Carlsson, 10 February 2022, Journal of the American Chemical Society.DOI: 10.1021/ jacs.1 c08402.

The image reveals a design of the coronavirus enzyme, developed by Jens Carlsson Group at Uppsala University. Credit: Andreas Luttens
Uppsala scientists have succeeded in developing a particle that hinders the duplication of coronaviruses which has excellent potential for advancement into a drug appropriate for dealing with COVID-19. The particle is effective against both the new variation and previously recognized coronaviruses. The post has been released in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The new coronavirus has actually caused more than five million deaths. Numerous lives might have been conserved with antiviral drugs, however no treatment of this type has been available to the health care system. Throughout the pandemic, researchers all over the world have tried to find a pharmaceutical, but the advancement of brand-new medications often takes a very long time.
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University and SciLifeLab, Sweden. Credit: Niklas Norberg Wirtén
Throughout the very first months of the pandemic, researchers were able to determine the structure of the coronavirus and how it works at the molecular level. The concept is to create a molecule with the ability to bind and acknowledge to the enzyme.