In an international study, scientists from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin joined forces with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States and discovered hundreds of previously unknown variations in genes that have a sometimes drastic impact on the concentration of these small molecules in the blood. The researchers have now published their findings in the journal Nature Genetics.
International consortium creates ‘open platform’ for COVID-19 drug discovery
17th December 2020
An international consortium, led by Cambridge Medical Research Council (MRC) researchers, has developed an ‘open platform’ to advance and prioritise drug discovery and repurposing efforts for COVID-19.
This platform will provide information on the genetic variation of host proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes COVID-19, based on analysis of genetic and proteomic data from the MRC’s Fenland Study.
In a statement, the MRC Epidemiology Unit of Cambridge University said that certain host proteins could become targets of drugs to block viral entry and inhibit viral proliferation as well as dampen the damaging host inflammatory responses caused by COVID-19.
Researchers examine proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection
Like all viruses, the novel coronavirus is dependent on help from the human host cell. Proteins are the functional units of the cell and enable the virus to enter the host cell or help the virus to replicate.
Scientists from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), along with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, have examined the corresponding genes of the helper proteins in a large study.
They discovered numerous variants that influence the amount or function of the proteins as well as their ability to support the virus. The gene variants reveal potential target structures for new drugs. The researchers have now published their results in the journal
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IMAGE: Red: proteins required by the virus, blue: proteins associated with severe COVID-19 disease; the higher the peak, the higher the probability that there is actually a connection. view more
Credit: Image: M. Pietzner
Like all viruses, the novel coronavirus is dependent on help from the human host cell. Proteins are the functional units of the cell and enable the virus to enter the host cell or help the virus to replicate. Scientists from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), along with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, have examined the corresponding genes of the helper proteins in a large study. They discovered numerous variants that influence the amount or function of the proteins as well as their ability to support the virus. The gene variants reveal potential target structures for new drugs. The researchers have now published their results in the journal