ANTICOR
The project proposes a new strategy for the screening of drugs and antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This is an innovative technology for drug screening that uses an affordable, fast, safe and efficient system to evaluate all types of antiviral compounds and antibodies that block the entry of SARS-CoV-2 virus into human cells. The use of recombinant viruses has been successfully used in drug screening for various medically important viruses, as well as in serological screening. The advantages of the proposal are well founded, highlighting that this technology may be applicable in the future to other viruses that constitute an emerging public health problem.
Antiviral platform
We are part of a joint effort to establish a platform for the screening of antivirals against current and future viral threats. The work combines groups that span the full drug discovery and development process.
BlockAce
This collaboration will employ a multi-disciplinary approach to identify inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding and entry. Combining expertise in medicinal chemistry, computational chemical biology, structural biology, and virology, 3 parallel approaches will be employed: (1) Immediate testing of compound libraries (>1,400) using a high-throughput cell assay for SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding and entry. (2) Computational screening and design, synthesis, and evaluation (3). Development of protein-based inhibitors derived from the ACE2 receptor. The final evaluation of hits for effectiveness and drug resistance will be done with SARS-CoV-2.
COVID-19: anti-infectious and anti-inflammatory action of immunomodulatory parasite molecules in a safe-to-use synthetic format
The group of Dr. Mar Siles Lucas at IRNASA handles in vitro and in vivo models of parasitic-host interactions with Fasciola hepatica, which could be used to evaluate the potential of the parasite and its molecules to modulate relevant entry routes and inflammation routes in COVID-19. On one hand, this parasite has shown influence on the expression of endocytosis-related molecules (e.g. clathrins) on in vitro mouse epithelial cells, routes that may be relevant for SARS-Cov-2 entry to human cells. In addition, F. hepatica results in a modified Th2 response without the inflammatory component in its host in vivo, and this modulation may result in a controlled inflammatory response to COVID-19.
Genomic monitoring
The objectives of this platform will be the identification of mutations associated with epidemiological/clinical changes of SARS-CoV-2 with special attention to breakthrough infections.
Mutaciones
We are part of a joint effort to better understand the effects of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 in real time. This grant aims at building a platform to deal with current and future threats.
PTI+: Transmission and contention
La detección de virus patógenos para humanos en aguas residuales es una herramienta muy útil y conocida para la vigilancia epidemiológica.
Performing a clinical trial with a GPBP inhibitor in COVID-19 patients
