• Universitat de València

Viral infections like SARS-CoV-2 and the human influenza A virus (HIAV) have a huge impact on global health, as well as on the global economy, so in addition to vaccines for the control and prevention of viral infections it is necessary to develop both prophylactic as well as therapeutic measures to reduce mortality and morbidity and improve health care for those affected by the virus. This requires the implementation of in vitro tools and techniques to strengthen and accelerate multiple viral studies, particularly to find compounds or drugs that can increase and accelerate in vitro growth.

Currently, compounds such as polybrene are used to enhance retrovirus infections by facilitating the attachment of virons to the cell surface, as seen with the addition of positively charged polycations. Polybrene, like DEAE-dextran, protamine sulphate, poly-l-lysine or cationic liposomes, reduces the forces of repulsion between the cell and the virus and improves efficiency. However, there are no compounds that enhance membrane fusion in the infection processes of lipid-enveloped viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 or HIAV, and that increase and accelerate their growth in vitro.

Research staff at the Universitat de València have identified that ethinylestradiol, an estradiol-derived estrogen, has the ability to increase and accelerate viral in vitro growth of certain lipid-enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A (HIAV). This increase is attributed to the compounds facilitation of the fusion of the cell and viral membranes necessary for the virus to penetrate the host. The properties associated with the identified compounds could have a major impact on the production of vaccines, as well as the acceleration of processes that require their multiplication.

The identified compound enhances the fusion of membranes in the infection processes of eveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIAV, increasing and accelerating their growth in vitro. The applications of this compound range from vaccine generation to the production of viral vectors in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to research on these viruses that require their rapid proliferation. Considering the compound reduces both production costs and time, these sectors could greatly benefit from its use.

Using this compound would have the following advantages:

• Increase in the number of viral particles produced.
• Acceleration in the process of infection.
• Improved yields in the production of this virus.
• Reduction in the associated production costs, e.g. in vaccine production.

• Industrial secret