Broad spectrum antiviral drug inhibits a range of emerging coronaviruses

Science Daily March 6, 2018
A team of researchers in the US (Vanderbilt University, University of North Carolina, University of the South, industry) reports on GS-5734, a promising experimental broad spectrum antiviral drug. Previous studies on have shown that the drug inhibits strains of SARS and MERS coronaviruses that infect human airways and the lower respiratory tract, as well as infection by the Ebola virus. The researchers now report that the drug also inhibits murine hepatitis virus, or MHV, which is closely related to several human coronaviruses that can cause respiratory tract infections, sometimes as severe as SARS. They tested the drug on mini models of human lungs consisting of airway epithelial cells. They also identified how the virus fights back against the drug. They suggest that the drug may be effective enough to outpace viral evolution… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Ultrastructural details exhibited by a single, spherical-shaped, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) virion. Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Posted in Medical science.

Leave a Reply