Researchers at the University of Lübeck have successfully decoded the crucial enzyme for the propagation of the coronavirus.
- Researchers at the University of Lübeck have apparently made a breakthrough.
- A crucial enzyme for the multiplication of the coronavirus * could be decrypted.
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the previous corona news from Germany in our ticker *. You can also find current case numbers * in Germany as a map. The following recommendations for corona protective measures * are currently available.
Lübeck - Researchers Linlin Zhang and Rolf Hilgenfeld from the University of Lübeck have made a real breakthrough . They were able to decipher an enzyme that is crucial for the multiplication of the novel coronavirus . The researchers also found an inhalable inhibitor that works against the newly decoded main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
It is specifically about the main viral protease Mpro , without which the coronavirus cannot copy its genetic material (RNA) from the host cell and thus multiply it. Closer research into the enzyme structure could now help combat the virus. An inhibitor that has been developed against related corona viruses has already been tested effectively in mice and in cell cultures.
Corona virus: Research is in full swing - first successes with old inhibitors
The main protease is the decisive factor in the fight against the virus, since it cannot multiply without it. With the discovery of the two Lübeck researchers Zhang and Hilgenfeld, a new approach for antiviral agents against the novel corona virus is now being opened.
Covid-19's worryingly continuously increasing number of cases * is putting researchers worldwide under pressure. A suitable vaccine is currently being rushed for - but also for antiviral agents that could curb the spread of the pathogen in the body and thus also stop it.
Possible successes already seem to be emerging. An inhibitor that Hilgenfeld and his team developed a few years ago against the MERS-CoV pathogen and other related coronaviruses is also said to have proven effective against SARS-CoV-2. In the mice, the inhibitor accumulated in the lungs and kidneys as hoped - these organs are most affected in Covid-19.
Video: This is how a Corona test center works
Corona Virus: Lung Culture Trials Successful - Too Late for Current Pandemic?
But the experiments also worked with human lung cell cultures . In the case of already infected lung cells, the new inhibitor blocked the multiplication of the virus, thus preventing the infection from progressing. According to the researchers, the inhalable inhibitor of the main protease opens up an approach for new agents against the rampant coronavirus. The researchers also found that the inhibitors were highly likely to be non-toxic .
However, the developments are probably too late to counteract the current pandemic. "It will certainly take several years for our active ingredient to develop into an anti-coronavirus drug," says Hilgenfeld.
Coronavirus: New findings important for later waves of infection
Studies should now be financed. At best, the funding could come from the consortium, which is part of an initiative by
European Commission
to fight against the corona virus. However, the new findings could help make possibly recurring waves of Covid infections treatable and thus reduce deaths in some time.
After his Covid 19 illness, Friedrich Merz spoke up and predicted a new “post-corona world”.
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Sebastian Gollnow
