Found the weak point of the Corona virus
US scientists have identified the main weakness of the Coronavirus, allowing them to directly target it with existing drugs. The research team at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago published the data obtained in the journal Science Advances.
The most intriguing “drug target,” according to the paper’s authors, is Mpro protease, an enzyme involved in the virus’s replication mechanism. Doctors have previously tried to manipulate its structure and use it to determine the difference between the new Coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2.
| Scientists say which clothing materials can best protect against the Coronavirus. Photo: Reutres/Kham |
In turn, US experts have found a previously undiscovered link in the protein, which could be key to developing new strategies to treat the coronavirus infectious disease.
Thus, the scientists discovered that one of the compounds that most effectively affected the protease was ebselen, a drug molecule with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The researchers stressed that this finding suggests the need to modify existing treatment strategies for Covid-19.
