Coronaviruses steal and reshape the internal membranes of their host cells in order to replicate; this microscope image shows what these reshaped membranes look like. (Credit: Volker Thiel, Edward Trybala, and colleagues)
Researchers have found that a small chemical compound called K22 can interfere with the ability of coronaviruses to use the internal membranes of host cells for their own replication. Although it’s still a very long way from being a drug, the fact that the molecule shows activity against a wide range of coronaviruses – including middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) – is of great interest to those studying these viruses.
Original research paper published in the the journal PLOS Pathogens on May 29, 2014.
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