New scientific discovery22 Sep 2020 07:07
News today
https://apple.news/AsWEzwJCEQkeTpGvBvxlDZA
Scientists in Bristol have said the discovery of a “druggable pocket” in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein could be used to stop the virus from infecting human cells and is a “game changer” in the search for treatments.
Unexpectedly, the research team’s analysis revealed the presence of a small molecule, linoleic acid (LA), buried in a pocket within the Spike protein.
LA is a free fatty acid, which is indispensable for many cellular functions. The human body cannot produce LA. Instead, the body absorbs this essential molecule through diet.
This essential fatty acid plays a vital role in inflammation and immune modulation, which are both key elements of Covid-19 disease progression. LA is also needed to maintain cell membranes in the lungs so that we can breathe properly.
Professor Berger said: “We were truly puzzled by our discovery, and its implications. So here we have LA, a molecule which is at the centre of those functions that go haywire in COVID-19 patients, with terrible consequences.
“And the virus that is causing all this chaos, according to our data, grabs and holds on to exactly this molecule – basically disarming much of the body’s defences.”
This is from Avacta’s May 15th RNS
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce that several of the Affimer reagents recently generated for development of a point-of-care COVID-19 antigen saliva test have now also been shown to block the interaction between the virus' spike protein and ACE2, a receptor on human cells that is key to the virus infection pathway1.
I hope we’re still working on a potential cure.
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