Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia have developed two new peptide-based drugs to prevent COVID-19 in people who have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. The drugs are being tested in France in pre-clinical studies. The early results seem promising and have been published in the journal Nature Cell Discovery. They demonstrate that the drugs had few side effects but were non-toxic.
Scientists discovered the peptide-based drugs after uncovering a previously unknown mode of entry of SARS-CoV-2 utilizing the ACE2 receptor for invading cells. With the cloaking peptides, the virus can mistakenly latch to the drugs, as it would do to human cells, thereby preventing infection. A chemical tag functioning as a padlock on the ACE2 receptor that can keep the receptor locked or open was also observed; this can…
