NEW DELHI: Researchers at IIT-Roorkee have identified anti-viral molecules that can be used effectively to treat the COVID-19 infection, a study officials said is critical to prepare for new variants and future pandemics.
The team identified three such antiviral molecules through drug repurposing, computational and antiviral experimental studies, according to officials.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred both computational and experimental studies all over the world to understand the structure and nature of SARS-COV-2 viral proteins and develop vaccines and cures for it, they said.
These studies have resulted in the availability of a “protein data bank”, which is a repository of structures of proteins and viruses. This data bank is used by researchers globally for drug discovery.
“Such research into the SARS-CoV-2 virus is critical not only to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic but also prepare for any new variants and future pandemics as well. This research can provide valuable inputs to the scientific community to understand such viruses and develop vaccines,” Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee Director KK Pant said.
The team focused on discovering molecules that acted on a specific part of the viral proteins called the nucleotide-binding pockets (NBP),” she said.
Pant said that as the name suggests, “the NBP binds to the nucleotides — the building blocks of RNA and DNA — and help in the replication of the virus”. “NBP-targeting drugs are known and used for viral diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Herpes, among others,” she said.
The research has been published in the reputed, peer-reviewed journal Virology.
The team is executing protein structure-based drug-repurposing research on SARS-CoV2 molecules for clinical evaluation and eventual use as antiviral therapeutics.
Shailly Tomar of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT-Roorkee said that “given the success of NBP-targeting antivirals in other diseases, we attempted to repurpose pharmacologically-active compounds that bind to the NBPs of six SARS-CoV-2 proteins”. (PTI)
