Respiratory Tract Bacterial Extracts Could Prevent COVID-19

This study is unique because it is the first time researchers have targeted the receptor – the lock – with a bacterial extract and shown it protects against infection with live virus. We ' re essentially removing the lock from the cell wall so there ' s nothing for the virus ' key to attach to, " said senior author Dr.  Donata Vercelli, professor of  cellular and molecular medicine at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson and professor of genetics at the BIO5 Institute.  When SARS-CoV-2 enters the lungs, it binds to receptors including the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor, known as ACE2, on the outer membranes of lung cells. A cellular enzyme changes the shape of a protein on the virus to enable SARS-CoV-2 to breach the membrane and infect the cell.When the pandemic began, Vercelli andVadim Pivniouk, associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, along with other members of the research team, turned to  data they collected in an asthma prevention study to determine whether OM-85 treatment affected the ACE2 receptor and enzyme involved in COVID-19.Vercelli collaborated with Dr.  Janko Nikolich- Žugich, professor and chair of the Department of Immunobiology and BIO5 member, and  Jennifer Uhrlaub, associate research scientist, and found that pretreatment of cells with OM-85 prevented infection by SARS-CoV-2. The ability of OM-85 to prevent viral infection was found to be dependent on its ability to decrease the expression ...
Source: The University of Arizona: Health - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research