Reported in an article published in the journal Nature Communications, the study is summarized in press release на EurekAlert!.
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Researchers have developed targeted antiviral drugs that target infected cells and do not harm healthy ones. To do this, they synthesized a molecule by combining zanamivir, an inhibitor of the viral enzyme neuraminidase, with dinitrophenyl, which specifically acts on the surface of free viruses and virus-infected cells. It turned out that the molecule simultaneously suppresses the release of viruses from the cell and eliminates both the viruses themselves and the infected cells.
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It has been shown that intranasal or intraperitoneal administration of a single dose of the drug to mice infected with the virus eliminates common representative strains of influenza A and B viruses. According to scientists, these results may be applicable to other viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis B and respiratory syncytial virus.
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On average, more than two million people are hospitalized with the flu in the United States every year, and between 30,000 and 80,000 of them die from illness or related complications.
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