Well, one thing that has changed about COVID-19 is that the virus has officially been named SARS-CoV-2, as the second virus known to cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As the number of cases continues to rise in the US and hospitals grow more and more overwhelmed with patients seeking testing and treatment, researchers are working hard to develop a preventative vaccine and/or treatment for the virus. There is bound to be some wait-time for these to be developed, as scientists must first gain a detailed understanding of the pathogenesis of the virus. Not only does SARS-CoV-2 share a name with 2003 SARS-CoV, but the two viruses are believed to share a receptor protein to which they attach, called ACE-2. Studying this protein could be effective against preventing COVID-19 since it offers a possible way to block the virus from entering its target cells.
This is exactly what is being done by an international team led by the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Dr. Josef Penninger working to develop antivirals against COVID-19. They are focusing on ACE-2 and how they can use this receptor to lessen the viral load in severe cases. They have developed a drug called hrsACE2, or human recombinant soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Using stem cell-derived models of blood vessels and kidneys, which have both been shown as target cells of the virus, the team at UBC was able to show that SARS-CoV-2 infected these cells at a much lower rate when treated with hrsACE2 (ScienceDaily, n.p.) The mechanism of this drug is basically binding the virus before it can bind to actual ACE2 on target cells and infect them. The team is working on moving towards clinical trials soon, but the study is promising.
As for the vaccine, this is another important key to stopping the epidemic. Moderna, a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, and the National Institute of Health have partnered to find a COVID-19 vaccine and are currently underway with phase 1 human trials and on track to phase 2 around spring or early summer. Their trials are aimed at “hijacking” mRNA to carry a copy of the viruses genome and induce the production of antibodies against the virus (Harbert, n.p.) The company has no approved vaccine to date, but they had been working on a vaccine against MERS, another type of coronavirus, so they had a headstart to developing their vaccine, as MERS is genetically similar to SARS-CoV-2. Even if this sounds good, widespread distribution of the vaccine is still expected to come no sooner than September of 2020, which is why social distancing and taking individual precautions are so important right now during the height of the US pandemic.
Jaylin’s Thoughts: Microbiology 