An international panel of researchers says it has identified a chemical compound that displays the ability to inhibit deadly forms of coronaviruses including MERS and SARS.
With the current outbreak of the highly pathogenic Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that has killed hundreds, scientists around the world are engaged in an effort to discover treatments for the viral strains, for which no specific drugs are yet available.
Research led by scientists at the University of Berne in Switzerland and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden has managed to identity a compound, named K22, which initially showed antiviral capabilities against one mild coronavirus strain that causes common colds.
An additional study confirmed the compound is effective against more dangerous coronaviruses including MERS and SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
Almost 800 peopled died in an outbreak of SARS in 2002.
MERS, a new coronavirus strain discovered in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, is less contagious than SARS but more deadly.
Almost 200 people have died from MERS, thought to have originated in camels and then spread to humans.
Scientists say K22 guards host membranes in the body from being "re-shaped" as the attacking corona virus attempts to multiply and spread the infection. It appears capable of inhibiting viruses in cells lining the human airway, a natural "invasion" pathway for respiratory viruses, the researchers said.
The process by which the virus attempts to reproduce in human cells is a highly sensitive one and is likely to be susceptible to anti-viral medications, researchers said.
"The remarkable efficacy of K22-mediated inhibition of coronavirus replication confirms that the employment of host cell membranes for viral RNA synthesis is a crucial step in the coronavirus life cycle, and importantly, demonstrates that this step is extremely vulnerable and also druggable for antiviral intervention," the researchers explain.
The MERS outbreak has prompted researchers in a number of countries -- including the United States -- to launch crash programs to find possible treatments or cures.
Scientists at Purdue University are working on creating molecules that could "shut down" the MERS virus by targeting an enzyme necessary for the virus to survive.
"This enzyme has a big mouth that, in a way, allows it to chew up other proteins the virus needs to live," said Purdue research leader Andrew Mesecar. "How do we stop a big mouth from chewing things up? We stuff it full of something else. That is what the molecules we invent do. If you can shut down this critical enzyme, you can effectively shut down the virus."
