Previous studies have found that these compounds work against certain viruses. The major issues have been their gut-restricted characteristics and potency to cause toxicity. The new compound overcomes both problems in mouse and cell-based tests.
‘Salicylanilide No. 11 does not allow the production of new viral particles inside the human body. It can also block the activity of IL-6 and reduce the chances of cytokine storm that occurs in COVID patients.’
Professor Kim Janda, Ph.D., director of the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine at Scripps Research started screening an array of salicylanilide compounds as soon as the SARS-CoV-2 virus started creating a global pandemic in early 2020. They found that the most efficacious compound among the list was Salicylanilide No. 11.
“Salicylanilide No. 11 differs from the commercial tapeworm medicines in key ways, including its ability to pass beyond the gut and be absorbed into the bloodstreamand without the worrisome toxicity.”
“The compound’s antiviral mechanism is the key. It blocks the viral material from getting out of the endosome, and it just gets degraded. This process does not allow new viral particles to be made as readily. This mechanism is not dependent on the virus spike protein, so these new variants coming up aren’t going to relegate us to finding new molecules as is the case with vaccines or antibodies,” Janda says.
The compound can also modulate key cytokines like IL-6 and reduce the chances of deadly cytokine storms in COVID patients. Further, the team reports that mitigating severe weight loss involved in COVID-19 infections would also be easy using this compound.
This study regarding the potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of salicylanilides was published in the journal ACS Infectious Disease .
Source: Medindia
