Collaborative study shows K777 effective in combatting SARS-CoV-2 virus
An enzyme inhibitor could become a new weapon in the arsenal to fight COVID-19 as a result of collaborative research by Texas A&M University, the University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston, the University of California San Diego and others.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus associated with COVID-19 is highly contagious and has led to a global pandemic. To date, more than 130 million people worldwide have been infected and more than 2.8 million have died from COVID-19.
The study, recently published on the ACS Chemical Biology website, shows that small concentrations of an enzyme inhibitor called K777 strongly impede the infection of several cell lines by SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. It also demonstrated the efficacy of K777 in reducing the ability of the virus to infect host cell lines without causing harm to the host cells.