The coronavirus uses the weak points in the human organism to spread.
In doing so, however, it also reveals how to deal with it.
And that is what German researchers have now found out.
Munich - German politics is
not exactly
splattering itself
with fame
in the
corona pandemic *
.
The representatives of the people often seem overwhelmed when they
are supposed
to
explain
their
containment measures
or even just to bring them closer.
To make matters worse, the state heads basically only
speak with one voice
immediately after the
Prime Minister's
Conference
.
Before
loopholes
are sought
in the decision paper in order to
embark on a course of their own that should lead to light.
The decision-makers do not prove that they are a role model.
Coronavirus drug?
German researchers find the weak point of Sars-CoV-2
Research *
gives a far better picture
.
The Mainz company
BioNTech *
, together with its US partner
Pfizer, launched
the first
vaccine against Sars-CoV-2
.
And now a breakthrough for the
development of a drug could have been
achieved in this country.
Scientists at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen tracked down a
vulnerability in the coronavirus
, and the work was published in the specialist magazine
Bioinformatics
.
To do this, they further developed a computer model that shows the effects of human
alveolar macrophages
on the novel virus.
The former are responsible for the
defense against dangerous
substances in the alveoli
.
You were assumed here as the host of Sars-CoV-2.
Video: BioNTech vaccine is effective against 16 corona mutations
Coronavirus drug?
Ask about material for making virus particles
So it was about researching how the pathogen multiplies.
To do this, the virus had to be forced
to force
this host cell to
produce new virus particles
.
According to
Dr.
Andreas Dräger
from the university in question first wanted to find out "which material is needed to produce a
virus particle
".
The next step then was
to “see how the
biochemical reactions
in the host cells change during a virus infection” by
playing through various scenarios
.
Certain reactions were then switched off, which ultimately revealed which
processes
are
particularly helpful for the virus
.
Coronavirus drug?
Without the enzyme GK1, Sars-CoV-2 will no longer multiply
For example the
enzyme with the name guanylate kinase 1
, GK1 for short.
If this was inactive, Sars-CoV-2 no longer multiplied at all.
Dräger and Co. made another
gratifying discovery
: "While virus replication no longer takes place without GK1, the human cell can switch to
other biochemical metabolic pathways
." If this were not the case, a drug that
isolates
this enzyme would have
significant side effects
.
In order to benefit from the work, a way must now be found
to deactivate
the
enzyme GK1
.
This could stop the multiplication of Sars-CoV-2.
Some inhibitors for the enzyme
are already
known.
The Tübingen researchers want to use these funds in the near future together with
Dr.
Bernhard Ellinger
from the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology will
test
their
effectiveness against the virus
.
Coronavirus drug?
Research hopes for new approaches and is optimistic
The Hamburg scientist calls the discovery in the
RTL
interview "great evidence that ultimately
provides
new approaches
".
Although be with a
Corona-drug "before the end of the year"
to be expected.
What is certain, however, is that the Tübingen team has taken the virus seriously.
“That we will find something that works - the
probability
is almost certain.
It actually always works, ”emphasizes Ellinger:“ It's then a
question of combination
.
Is the effect enough
to make
an
experiment out
of it, or is it just an idea to develop something? ”In any case, an
important component of Sars-CoV-2 has
now been identified.
(mg) * merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
