[MBio] The culprit of coronavirus infection is actually the cell's "quality control system"!

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Author: Liz Zee Guide: In the process of studying diseases caused by close relatives of the COVID-19 virus, a team of scientists discovered a compound that can relieve the coronavirus The potential for symptoms of viral infection
.

Teams from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, affiliated to the U.
S.
Department of Energy, studied the coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
.

Although MERS is not as widespread as COVID-19, it is more deadly
.

The team set out to learn more about how the virus that causes MERS harms patients and their lungs
.

In the course of laboratory research, the team analyzed tens of thousands of measurements of proteins, molecular messengers, and other signals that occur after infection
.

They identified a molecular process that is part of the human body's quality control mechanism and played a central role in the harm caused by the coronavirus to the body
.

The team then searched a huge database of compounds and determined that a compound called AMG PERK 44 could prevent the virus from replicating in human tissues
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They also found that the compound is very effective in mice infected with the virus
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The compound enhanced the lung function of mice, especially male mice, and reduced lung damage and weight loss
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01Extensive prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases Battelle and UNC, which operate PNNL, have applied for a patent for the use of PERK inhibitors to treat coronavirus infections
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But scientists emphasize that it is too early to know whether this compound can help patients
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It is not currently used as a medicine
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Their research results were published in the "mBio" magazine under the title "Unfolded Protein Response Inhibition Reduces Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-Induced Acute Lung Injury".
The paper will help to gain a deeper understanding of respiratory diseases in the future
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PNNL virologist Amy Sims and scientist Hugh Mitchell are the first authors of this paper.
They said: "Studies like this will help us understand more about how deadly respiratory viruses work and why they attack the lungs.
Some parts of the human body but not others
.

” Sims added: “Study on the working principles of these viruses helps us understand why patients have these symptoms, which will ultimately help us treat or prevent diseases
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” Sims studies the coronavirus.
It has been more than 20 years
.

She and her colleagues started the study eight years ago, when the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 had not yet appeared
.

Many years after Sims and colleagues started this research, the results may affect millions of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
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Sims said: "How is a vaccine for COVID-19 quickly developed? And how is a new drug to treat this disease quickly developed? Such a speed is because when the virus appeared, scientists did not start from scratch
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They can build on years of research to understand how the immune system works and how it responds to the coronavirus
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You never know when a certain research will play a vital role in the future
.

"02 Emergency response to damaged proteins.
The team studies proteins and the main molecules of human cells
.

Proteins have multiple functions to keep organisms (such as humans) healthy
.
The
body will pay close attention to them to ensure that their proteins are intact.
Non-destructive and functional
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When the body starts to produce non-compliant protein for any reason (including infection), the protein repair mechanism in the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell will enter an emergency response mode
.
The
organelles are like the triage center for damaged proteins.

.

when it is submerged misfolded protein, unfolded protein response (UPR) will start
.

UPR temporarily stop all related to the manufacture of new proteins of cellular activities
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this fight for the necessary repair time of misfolded proteins into cells
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If too many proteins are damaged and the protein repair and folding mechanism cannot be restored, the system will trigger other proteins to kill the cell
.
The
PNNL-UNC team found that when the body responds to MERS infection, the system is in certain lung cells very active
.

in the present study, the treatment of lung tissue in mice and is carried out in a laboratory of UNC, the lab Ralph Baric led by one of the world's leading coronavirus researcher
.

PNNL scientists to measure and explain Lots of data about molecular information
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Sims worked at Baric Labs when he was at UNC and joined PNNL early last year; the two organizations have been cooperating for many years
.

Baric said: "Coronavirus infection can lead to complex disease phenotypes.
New methods are needed to sort out which routes of infection to the host can lead to serious, life-threatening results
.

" Reference: https://journals.
asm.
org/ doi/10.
1128/mBio.
01572-21 Note: This article aims to introduce the progress of medical research and cannot be used as a reference for treatment options
.

If you need health guidance, please go to a regular hospital
.

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