There is another way of entry of the new coronavirus into the body: it is the Dpp4 receptor, a molecular lock that the virus uses to invade cells, is found on all types of human cells and is the same on which they act many anti-diabetes medications. This indicates that the same drugs could be used against Covid-19, at least in the milder cases. The observation, published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, is by Gianluca Iacobellis, of the University of Miami.
After the Ace2 receptor, which is found mainly on the cells of the human respiratory system and which has been identified from the beginning as the main gateway of the new coronavirus into the human organism, the discovery that SarsCoV2 binds to the Dpp4 receptor indicates that "there is also a different mechanism, which could open a therapeutic pathway for those who have Covid-19 disease in moderate form," Iacobellis, who heads the Diabetology Service of the University Hospital of Miami, told ANSA.
The Dpp4 receptor is known to be present on the surface of all cells, such as those of the bronchi and heart, and to have a link with the immune and inflammatory systems, as well as its involvement in the coronavirus disease that appeared in 2002 was known -2003, the Sars. Now it is a question of how far anti-diabetes drugs can be effective against Covid-19. There are still no certain answers because research on this topic is just beginning.
The first step is to collect data and in this regard, said Iacobellis, "at the University of Miami we have just started an observational study to see if patients with Covid-19 treated with diabetes therapy have had a different course." The molecules behind these drugs are called sitagliptin linagliptin saxagliptin and alogliptin: "all of them have a very good tolerability profile - he observed - and recently the suspicion that they increased the risk of upper respiratory tract infections has also been totally denied".
