Researchers at Imperial College London have just developed a molecule capable of fighting different strains of the common cold virus. A great first since until now it was only possible to fight against symptoms such as congestion or sneezing.
Runny nose, fever, sore throat, headache… The common cold may be one of the most benign and common illnesses, but its symptoms are nonetheless unpleasant. They may soon be a thing of the past if recent work at Imperial College London is to be believed.
In a study published on May 14 in the review Nature chemistry, the researchers say they have developed a molecule capable of fighting different strains of the virus that causes the common cold, also known as nasopharyngitis.
Drugs that targeted symptoms, not viruses
A frequent and usually mild infection of the upper airways, the common cold is caused by families of viruses, primarily picornaviridae, adenoviruses, and coronaviruses of which there are hundreds of variants. Hence the impossibility of being immunized or vaccinated against all, especially as viruses evolve rapidly and can acquire resistance to drugs.
This explains why most of the common cold remedies available on the market treat symptoms like fever or runny nose rather than attacking the virus itself.
That may soon change thanks to the new molecule developed by researchers at Imperial College London and IMP-1088. This in fact targets N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), a protein present in human cells which is used and “hijacked” by viruses to build a “shell” around the protein, which houses the genome of the virus.
No toxic side effect
This is not the first time that researchers are working on a molecule capable of fighting various cold viruses. But these drugs targeted human cells rather than viruses, making them potentially toxic. The originality of this new molecule is that it targets the human protein and not the virus itself, making the emergence of resistant viruses very unlikely. And this, without affecting human cells, say the researchers, although more study is needed to confirm it. In addition, the molecule also acts against viruses related to the common cold virus, such as polio and foot-and-mouth disease viruses.
“The common cold is an inconvenience for most of us, but it can cause serious complications in people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A drug like this could be of tremendous benefit. it is given early in the infection, and we are working on a version that could be inhaled, so that it quickly reaches the lungs, “said Prof. Ed Tate, Principal Investigator in the Department of Chemistry. at Imperial College London. However, he clarified, “the way the drug works means that we have to be sure that it is used against the common cold virus, and not in similar conditions with different causes, in order to minimize the chances of toxic side effects “.
So far, the IMP-1088 molecule has been tested in the laboratory on human cells and demonstrated its ability to block multiple strains of the common cold virus. The team will now continue clinical trials in animals and then in humans.
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