Recently, researchers at Stanford University School of
Medicine have come up with a novel way of blocking the infection of a group of
flaviviruses such as Zika, Dengue, and West Nile virus all at once. Instead of
focusing on antivirals that might prove to be affective against one particular
flavivirus but not on another flavivirus, Stanford researchers took another
approach on combating these viruses, by directing their attention on the hosts
of these viruses rather than on the viruses themselves. The most prevalent
vectors of flaviviruses by far are mosquitoes followed by ticks.
To understand the current research, it is beneficial to
delve into previous research done in this area, where it was found that oligosaccharyltransferase
complexes in host cells were especially important in the development of
glycans on the surfaces of these host cells, glycans used by the flaviviruses
to infect the host cells. By genetically engineering cells that lacked these oligosaccharyltransferase
complexes, it was found that the flaviviruses could no longer infect the
host cells.
In the new research that is being done by Stanford
researcher Carette and his colleagues, the development of a new drug called
NGI-1, which blocks the activity of the oligosaccharyltransferase complexes,
was found to inhibit the infection by flaviviruses in host cells by 99% at low
doses immediately after infection, so that the host cells would not be harmed
as well. If the drug was administered 24
hours after the initial infection, then it was found that inhibition by the
flaviviruses such as Zika and Dengue was 80%.
Such a finding is definitely a step in the right
direction, but as always, more research needs to be done in animal models in
order to confirm the effectiveness of this new type of antiviral drug.
Sources:
-Daniel Gutierrez
No comments:
Post a Comment