HTCC: Broad Range Inhibitor of Coronavirus Entry.

HTCC: Broad Range Inhibitor of Coronavirus Entry.

Aleksandra Milewska, Kamil Kaminski, Justyna Ciejka, Katarzyna Kosowicz, Slawomir Zeglen, Jacek Wojarski, Maria Nowakowska, Krzysztof Szczubialka, Krzysztof Pyrc

To date, six human coronaviruses have been known, all of which are associated with respiratory infections in humans. With the exception of the highly pathogenic SARS and MERS coronaviruses, human coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-HKU1) circulate worldwide and typically cause the common cold. In most cases, infection with these viruses does not lead to severe disease, although acute infections in infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients may progress to severe disease requiring hospitalization. Importantly, no drugs against human coronaviruses exist, and only supportive therapy is available. Previously, we proposed the cationically modified chitosan, N-(2-hydroxypropyl)-3-trimethylammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), and its hydrophobically-modified derivative (HM-HTCC) as potent inhibitors of the coronavirus HCoV-NL63. Here, we show that HTCC inhibits interaction of a virus with its receptor and thus blocks the entry. Further, we demonstrate that HTCC polymers with different degrees of substitution act as effective inhibitors of all low-pathogenic human coronaviruses.

2016

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156552

PLoS ONE

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Science, Medicine

EN