- Jan 7, 2002
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In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body's immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible.
The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.
The researchers said that many other viruses responsible for a range of diseases could also be targeted by the new approach. They include the norovirus, which causes winter vomiting, and rotavirus, which results in severe diarrhoea and kills thousands of children in developing countries.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved human cells cultured in the laboratory and will need to be replicated by further research on animals before the first clinical trials with humans.
One possibility is that the protein TRIM21 could be used in a nasal spray to combat the many types of viruses that cause the common cold. "The kind of viruses that are susceptible to this are the rhinoviruses, which cause the common cold, noravirus, which causes winter vomiting, rotavirus, which cause gastroenteritis. In this country these are the kind of viruses that people are most likely to be exposed to," Dr James said.
"This is a way of boosting all the antibodies you'd be naturally making against the virus. The advantage is that you can use that one drug against potentially lots of viral infections."
"We can think of administering these drugs as nasal sprays and inhalers rather than taking pills... It could lead to an effective treatment for the common cold," he said. "The beauty of this system is that you give the virus no chance to make its own proteins to fight back. It is a way for the cell to get rid of the virus and stay alive itself."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...covery-in-a-cambridge-laboratory-2122607.html
The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.
The researchers said that many other viruses responsible for a range of diseases could also be targeted by the new approach. They include the norovirus, which causes winter vomiting, and rotavirus, which results in severe diarrhoea and kills thousands of children in developing countries.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved human cells cultured in the laboratory and will need to be replicated by further research on animals before the first clinical trials with humans.
One possibility is that the protein TRIM21 could be used in a nasal spray to combat the many types of viruses that cause the common cold. "The kind of viruses that are susceptible to this are the rhinoviruses, which cause the common cold, noravirus, which causes winter vomiting, rotavirus, which cause gastroenteritis. In this country these are the kind of viruses that people are most likely to be exposed to," Dr James said.
"This is a way of boosting all the antibodies you'd be naturally making against the virus. The advantage is that you can use that one drug against potentially lots of viral infections."
"We can think of administering these drugs as nasal sprays and inhalers rather than taking pills... It could lead to an effective treatment for the common cold," he said. "The beauty of this system is that you give the virus no chance to make its own proteins to fight back. It is a way for the cell to get rid of the virus and stay alive itself."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...covery-in-a-cambridge-laboratory-2122607.html
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