Much of the effort to develop remedies and vaccines to combat COVID-19 has focused on the spike protein that the culprit virus, SARS-CoV-2, uses to invade healthy cells. Scientists at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute believe they have found a way to block the ability of the spike protein to infect cells, and this involves a 78-year-old anticoagulant.
The medicine is heparin, which is widely used to treat and prevent blood clots. The RPI team found that SARS-CoV-2 binds strongly to heparin, turning the drug into a potential “lure” that could serve as a way to neutralize the virus before it can infect healthy cells. They reported the finding (PDF) in the journal Antiviral Research.
The RPI researchers made the discovery by studying gene sequencing data for SARS-CoV-2 and by recognizing certain characteristics of the spike protein that they believed would likely bind to heparin. They tested three variants of the drug, including a non-anticoagulant formulation, against the virus, using computational models to define how they bind to the pathogen.
By binding to SARS-CoV-2, the anticoagulant traps the virus, “which cannot really exist sitting there, bound to heparin. It will just degrade, ”explained Jonathan Dordick, Ph.D., professor of chemical and biological engineering at RPI, in a video.
RELATED: COVID-19: Bio researchers rush to reuse everything from antiviral discoveries to anticancer
Dordick’s team was already working on methods to catch viruses when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread. The researchers developed a viral cheat technology that uses DNA fragments to mimic retention sites in human cells, and published research showing promising early data on dengue, influenza A, and Zika.
While searching for ways to translate viral cheating technology to COVID-19, Dordick partnered with Robert Linhardt, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and chemical biology at RPI, known for his creation of synthetic heparin.
Some anticoagulants are already being used by doctors treating COVID-19. The Bristol Myers Squibb Eliquis lawsuit skyrocketed earlier this year after reports that the drug could prevent strokes in seriously ill patients.
RPI researchers are proposing that heparin be used as an interim measure against COVID-19 until a vaccine is found. They suggested that the drug could be administered in inhaled form to people who have been exposed to COVID-19.
“This approach could be used as an early intervention to reduce infection among people who tested positive but have no symptoms yet,” lead author Linhardt said in a statement. “Ultimately, we want a vaccine, but there are many ways to fight a virus, and as we have seen with HIV, with the right combination of therapies, we can control the disease until a vaccine is found.”
.
