EurekAlert April 24, 2020
To help focus the global search for a treatment, researchers at the University of North Carolina provide a comprehensive resource of possible lines of attack against SARS-Cov-2 and related coronaviruses, including the results from all preclinical and clinical trials so far on vaccines against SARS and MERS. They discuss one-by-one the possible strategies against the coronavirus. Among most effective are vaccines. The most successful are likely to carry the Receptor Binding Domain (of the virus’s S-protein), which allows it to bind to and fuse with host cells. The authors discuss a range of options from fusion inhibitors, to inhibitors of human proteases, to immune modulators such as corticosteroid hormones, and others. The most attractive alternative until a vaccine is produced, is gene therapy delivered through the adeno-associated virus (AAV). They propose that the most promising approaches for fast progress are selected antivirals such as remdesivir, and gene therapy…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE