Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have identified the most toxic proteins made by SARS-COV-2. The researchers then used an FDA-approved cancer drug to decrease the viral protein's detrimental effects.
In their study, the team discovered the cell process that the virus hijacks, and demonstrate new potential candidate drugs that could be tested for treating severe COVID-19 disease patients. Their findings were published in Cell & Bioscience and Springer Nature journal.
"Our work suggests there is a way to prevent SARS-COV-2 from injuring the body's tissues and doing extensive damage," says senior author of the study Zhe Han, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Precision Disease Modeling at UMSOM.
In previous work, Dr. Han had been using fruit flies as a model to study other viruses, such as HIV and Zika. His team transitioned to SARS-CoV-2 in February 2020. SARS-COV-2 infects cells and forces the production of proteins from each of its 27 genes. Dr. Han's team introduced each of these 27 SARS-CoV-2 genes in human cells and generated 12 fruit fly lines to express SARS-CoV-2 proteins likely to cause toxicity based on their structure and predicted function. The team found that a viral protein, known as Orf6, was the most toxic, while two other proteins (Nsp6 and Orf7a) also proved toxic (although less than Orf6).