Scientists have developed a fresh drug that can check SARS - CoV-2 , the computer virus that causesCOVID-19 , from infect cell . And they did so by change state the virus ’s own great weapon against itself : its spike protein . This chip allows the virus to attach itself to cells and teaches our immune organisation to recognize it , and has been the focus ofmRNA vaccinedevelopment . But now there is a new manner to fight the virus .

In the final whole step to enter cells , SARS - CoV-2 habituate the spike protein like a crook sleeper and hale the electric cell membrane to fuse with the virus . When this happens successfully , the computer virus ’s transmitted cloth can get within and then use the cell ’s own machinery to make more copies of the computer virus .

An international squad , led by Kailu Yang of Stanford University , developed a molecule free-base on the spike protein that can stick to the protein in a way that stops it from twisting . The corpuscle , call the longHR2_42 inhibitor , is a newfangled approach to maintain the virus outside of our cells .

“ In the virus , there ’s two parts of the spike protein that come together forming this megabucks . So we simply took a short piece of one part of this bundle , and by synthesize that little composition chemically , it can insert itself into the spike protein and prevent the virus from infect cell , ” fourth-year author Axel Brunger from Stanford University aver in astatement .

The importance of the spike protein was recognized fromthe beginning of the pandemic , and treatments and inoculation have often ( but not exclusively ) focused on that face of the virus . But the spike protein has changed with fresh variation of the virus , so preventative approach and cures lose effectiveness as new strain spread .

This new drug affects a part of the spike protein that has not change much from variance to random variable , so the team believes that it could remain very effective against new form . And , the team hop to develop it as an inhaler , so people could take it at the earliest signs of infection to stop symptoms aggravate .

“ The moment people start up developing sniffles will be the time to take it , ” Brunger explicate .

The work was published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and will be presented at the67th Annual Biophysical Society Meetingin San Diego , California .