A recently published study showed a new compound delivered in a nasal spray has a strong efficacy in stopping and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta strain in mice.
As indicated in a EurekAlert! report, the researchers, which include those from the University of British Columbia, University de Sherbrooke, and Cornell University, believe this is the first treatment of its kind proven to be "effective against all COVID-19 variants of concern" reported to date, which includes Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma. This study has opened the door to developing a therapeutic spray for humans.
Variants of concern, which includes the recent Omicron strains, have lessened vaccine efficacy although according to Dr. Francois Jean, senior author and associate professor in the UBC department of microbiology and immunology, still unpublished results from his team reveal promise that N-0385 is effective too, at blocking Omicron strain infections in human cells.
He said, their unpublished findings represent encouraging results with the present rapid propagation of Omicron BA.2 all over the world.
Regrettably, the senior author continued, with another wave of an Omicron variant hitting the United Kingdom, Europe, and China and their knowledge of how such waves are occurring, which may be what they see in "Canada in the near future."
N-0385 Compound
Founder of the state-of-the-art level three biocontainment facility, FINDER, where the work on SARS-CoV-2 variants was carried out, Dr. Jean said once it gains approval, this compound could be used in combination with presently available drugs that inhibit replication of the virus from offering stronger defense against variants of concerns of coronavirus.
Called the N-0385, this specially designed compound blocks a specific human enzyme's activity that the virus is using to infect a host cell.
The tiny molecule was developed by Drs. Richard Leduc, Eric Marsault, Pierre-Luc Boudreault and their team at Universite de Sherbrooke. Researchers at UBC tested four COVID-19 variants, including Delta, in human lung cells and organoids, tissues that can imitate the organ they are taken from, and discovered that N-0385 inhibits infection, without evidence of toxicity.
According to Dr. Andrea Olmstead, co-author of the study and research associate in the department of microbiology and immunology, the compound is unique as it blocks entry at the cell surface minus having to enter into the cell, preventing it from causing any detectable cell damage. As well, she added, it is highly potent, in that it requires only a small amount to work very effectively.
Daily Dose of Nasal Spray
In a preprint, the Cornell University researchers led by Associate Professor Hector Aguilar-Carreno found genetically engineered mice infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and given a daily dose of the compound via a nasal spray for four days. As a result, all 10 of the treated mice survived the infection, compared with just 20 percent of the untreated rodents.
Researchers have shown a new compound delivered in a nasal spray is highly effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in mice. https://t.co/7ru9O2ORMz
— UBC Media Relations (@UBCNews) March 28, 2022
In the new paper published in the journal, Nature, N-0385 was tested against the Delta strain and was found to not just help with the prevention of COVID-19, but treatment as well, 12 hours following infection, including with infection-associated weight loss, as well as virus levels in the lungs of the mice, compared with controls.
The enzyme targeted by the compound exists in nasal cells, where the virus is inclined to enter, making a nasal spray the most practical, not to mention an effective way to administer N-0385.
Potential for Broad-Spectrum Treatment
No mutations have also been found in the virus that is causing COVID-19 in this mechanisms of enzyme thus far, as has taken place with other enzymes and other strains of the virus, making it a useful target for shielding against future variants of COVID-19, explained Dr. Jean.
The compound can be potentially used as a broad-spectrum treatment against other viruses using the same mechanism, elaborated Dr. Jean, including influenza viruses like influenza A, H1N1, and influenza C.
The professor also said that even if he does not know what one is infected with during flu season, he could be prescribed a nasal spray to treat the flu and coronaviruses.
A report about the new nasal spray is shown on Africa News Today's YouTube video below:
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