Cell metabolism may become a "new target" for the treatment of new coronary pneumonia

Recently, an international joint research team discovered that the transketolase (TKT) inhibitor BOT can inhibit the replication of the new coronavirus and increase the anti-new coronavirus activity of the glycolysis inhibitor 2-DG

After the new coronavirus infects cells, it reprograms the host cell to create a new virus.

A joint research team from the University of Frankfurt, Germany, the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, the German Infection Research Center, and the University of Kent in the UK further discovered that the new coronavirus infection is also related to the metabolic process-the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP)

TKT in organisms participates in two non-oxidative reactions in PPP

In addition, the combined use of 2-DG and BOT can further inhibit the replication of viruses in the culture dish than using one alone

Professor Kindrich Sinart from University of Frankfurt said: “Targeting the host cell metabolic changes caused by the virus is an attractive way to specifically interfere with the virus replication process