Asthma Drug Blocks Replication of Coronavirus

Drug used in the treatment of asthma can reduce SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from replicating in human immune cells. Montelukast used to reduce inflammation caused by conditions like asthma, hay fever, and hives has been found effective against COVID-19.

Findings of the Research

Researchers at the IISc found that the drug binds strongly to one end (‘C-terminal’) of a SARS-CoV-2 protein called Nsp1, which is one of the first viral proteins unleashed inside human cells.

This protein can bind to ribosomes the protein-making machinery inside our immune cells and shut down the synthesis of vital proteins required by the immune system, thereby weakening it.

The study published in the journal eLife states that "montelukast sodium hydrate can be used as a lead molecule to design potent inhibitors to help combat SARS-CoV-2 infection."

Tanweer Hussain, senior author of the study, explains that the mutation rate in this protein, especially the C-terminal region, is very low compared to the rest of the viral protein and since Nsp1 is likely to remain largely unchanged in any variants of the virus that emerge, drugs targeting this region are expected to work against all such variants.

The latest study comes in the backdrop of a major surge in coronavirus cases across the world, including in India, where Omicron remains the dominant variant in the fresh cases.

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The researchers screened over 1,600 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs in order to find the ones that bound strongly to Nsp1 using computational modeling.

They then shortlisted a dozen drugs including montelukast and saquinavir, an anti-HIV drug, to understand the stability of the drug-bound protein molecule.

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The team then cultured human cells in the lab that specifically produced Nsp1 and treated them with montelukast and saquinavir separately.

Source-Medindia