Exciting study on Covid-19

researchers have discovered an exciting new way to treat both existing strains and future variants of Covid.

A new study by Mater Research and University of Queensland scientists has identified a key cause of severe Covid infections and paved the way for an entirely novel treatment of the disease.

The researchers tested an existing drug which blocks cholesterol receptors on immune cells and found that it significantly lessens the severity of the disease in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2. The drug also significantly reduced viral loads in the mice.

Associate Professor Katharina Ronacher of Mater Research said the study was a “very significant” step towards developing a successful new treatment for both existing and future variants of Covid.

“The problem we now face when treating Covid-19 is that drug-resistant variants are emerging,” Dr Ronacher said.

“However, this drug is not an antiviral – it does not attack the virus.

“It works by targeting the host’s own immune system and could be used as new viral variants emerge that are resistant to antiviral drugs.

“This is a very exciting study; one which we hope could significantly improve the future treatment of patients with severe COVID-19.”

Associate Professor Katharina Ronacher and her team, PhD student Cheng Xiang Foo and postdoctoral fellow Dr Stacey Bartlett, found that SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers the production of oxidised cholesterols, which in turn cause immune cells to migrate to the lung via a cholesterolsensing receptor named GPR183. While immune cells are important to fight the infection, excessive infiltration of inflammatory cells known as macrophages (white blood cells which eliminate foreign substances) is a hallmark of severe Covid .