Genes, Vol. 13, Pages 2147: Anticipating the Next Chess Move: Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Simultaneously Disarming Viral Escape Mechanisms

Genes, Vol. 13, Pages 2147: Anticipating the Next Chess Move: Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Simultaneously Disarming Viral Escape Mechanisms Genes doi: 10.3390/genes13112147 Authors: Samir Mansour Moraes Casseb André Salim Khayat Jorge Estefano Santana de Souza Edivaldo Herculano Correa de Oliveira Sidney Emanuel Batista Dos Santos Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos Paulo Pimentel de Assumpção The COVID-19 pandemic initiated a race to determine the best measures to control the disease and to save as many people as possible. Efforts to implement social distancing, the use of masks, and massive vaccination programs turned out to be essential in reducing the devastating effects of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the high mutation rates of SARS-CoV-2 challenge the vaccination strategy and maintain the threat of new outbreaks due to the risk of infection surges and even lethal variations able to resist the effects of vaccines and upset the balance. Most of the new therapies tested against SARS-CoV-2 came from already available formulations developed to treat other diseases, so they were not specifically developed for SARS-CoV-2. In parallel, the knowledge produced regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in this disease was vast due to massive efforts worldwide. Taking advantage of such a vast molecular understanding of virus genomes and disease mechanisms, a targeted molecular therapy based on siRNA specifically developed to reach exclusive SARS-CoV-2...
Source: Genes - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research