Recently, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have come up with a novel way of blocking the infection of a group of flaviviruses such as Zika, Dengue, and West Nile virus all at once. Instead of focusing on antivirals that might prove to be affective against one particular flavivirus but not on another flavivirus, Stanford researchers took another approach on combating these viruses, by directing their attention on the hosts of these viruses rather than on the viruses themselves. The most prevalent vectors of flaviviruses by far are mosquitoes followed by ticks.
To understand the current research, it is beneficial to delve into previous research done in this area, where it was found that oligosaccharyltransferase complexes in host cells were especially important in the development of glycans on the surfaces of these host cells, glycans used by the flaviviruses to infect the host cells. By genetically engineering cells that lacked these oligosaccharyltransferase complexes, it was found that the flaviviruses could no longer infect the host cells.
In the new research that is being done by Stanford researcher Carette and his colleagues, the development of a new drug called NGI-1, which blocks the activity of the oligosaccharyltransferase complexes, was found to inhibit the infection by flaviviruses in host cells by 99% at low doses immediately after infection, so that the host cells would not be harmed as well. If the drug was administered 24 hours after the initial infection, then it was found that inhibition by the flaviviruses such as Zika and Dengue was 80%.
Such a finding is definitely a step in the right direction, but as always, more research needs to be done in animal models in order to confirm the effectiveness of this new type of antiviral drug.
Sources:
-Daniel Gutierrez
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