Prof. Marcin Drąg of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, together with scientists from Poland, Germany and Belgium, managed to identify chemical compounds that neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus in infected human cells. The study results were published in “Nature Chemical Biology”.
Scientists identified and successfully tested molecules that strongly inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication. – It’s the beginning. I hope that it can be clinically tested soon – says Prof. Drąg.
The identified compound is an inhibitor, i.e. a substance capable of inhibiting the activity of the Mpro protease – an enzyme created in the human cell by the coronavirus. When a virus enters a human cell, it causes it to produce a complex of viral proteins. From this protein complex, two proteases are released, which further “cut” it into pieces. In this way, more proteins are created that enable the virus to multiply.
