COVID-19: Scientists find promising first step in antiviral treatment

Biological sequencing of the fusion peptides of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 found them to be a 93% match. Calcium ions interacting with the fusion peptide alters the peptide’s structure, and how it interacts with membranes to promote infection. The findings provide a potential target for antiviral development to treat coronavirus.

The team is hopeful the research can illuminate some of the chemistry-related questions surrounding COVID-19, such as how it was able to move into humans, what chemical cues facilitated that process, and why the virus is able to replicate so easily in the respiratory tract. The team’s findings have led to supplemental funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through its Research Project Grant program, to develop an antibody that could block the virus’s entry by interacting with the fusion peptide.

/r/Coronavirus Thread Link - neurosciencenews.com