LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Scientists in Los Angeles are using reengineered human skills cells to develop the next effective treatment for COVID-19, a therapy created to stop the virus from reproducing in cells so that it can never take over and cause deadly infections.
Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim is the Cedars-Sinai study’s first author and an assistant professor in the Smidt Heart Institute at the hospital. He joined KNX In Depth to discuss the new therapy and how it’s testing so far.
“The results are still preliminary. So most of the observations that we made regarding the anti-viral and cell protective effects of this therapeutic have been done in a dish,” he said.
“So more studies would have to be done to understand, potentially, what the best way to administer this medication [would be].”
Early on in the pandemic it was determined that the SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein was allowing it to penetrate the cells of its host and infect them - turning the once healthy cells into so-called “virus factories” that would replicate the virus in the host’s body, Ibrahim said.
“And then the immune system detects that infection and it mounts a very strong, inflammatory response,” he continued. “In the ensuing infection a lot of tissue dies and becomes damaged and ultimately causes death.”
His team, he said, has determined that their work could prevent the virus factory from ever happening - leading to fewer severe cases of COVID-19, if any at all.
“What we observed in the dish is that, not only is this therapeutic capable of protecting cells from the damage and death that comes from inflammation, but [it also] prevents the virus’ ability to hijack the cells and make more of itself.”
If it succeeds, it’s a two-pronged treatment that could help a person who’s been infected with COVID-19 repair their cells and prevent others from getting severe infections, Ibrahim said.
"Few treatments currently exist for COVID-19, and the ones that do primarily focus solely on preventing the virus from replicating," Cedars-Sinai said in a statement.
"This new potential treatment inhibits replication but also protects or repairs tissue, which is important because COVID-19 can cause symptoms that affect patients long after the viral infection has been cleared."
To read more about the team's work, click here.
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