Belgian researchers discover key in coronavirus attack mechanism, hope to eradicate virus grows

For two years, the team led by David Alsteens, researcher at UCLouvain’s Institute of Biomolecular Sciences and Technologies, has been working to understand the mechanisms the virus uses to infect a cell. They examined the interaction between sialic acids, a type of sugar residue on the surface of the cell, and the spike protein of the virus to determine the role of that interaction in the infection process.

It was already known that the sialic acids surrounding the cells promote cell recognition, which makes it easier for viruses to identify their targets, but also that they facilitate the point of attachment of the virus and the infection of the cell. The researchers have now identified a variant of the sialic acids that interacts more strongly with the virus’s spike proteins than other sugars. In other words, “they have found the key with which the virus opens the door to the cells,” explains the university.

The researchers then decided to trap the virus into its own trap by preventing it from attaching to its host. They blocked the attachment points of the S protein, thus suppressing any interaction with the cell surface. “If the virus can’t attach to the cells, it can’t get in and it dies. In this way infection is prevented”, according to UCLouvain. They added that this discovery has the advantage of working with every variant of the virus, regardless of mutations.

The research team will now conduct experiments on mice to apply this blocker to the virus and test whether it works on an organism. The results should make it possible to develop an antiviral drug.

—