Current antiviral agents for COVID-19 treatment target viral proteins, which are susceptible to mutation during SARS-CoV-2 evolution. A potential strategy to fight emerging drug resistances is the development of compounds targeting host proteins that are indispensable for the viral life cycle.

Based on previous studies that have demonstrated the potential of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor (GHRH-R) antagonists to modulate immune responses to bleomycin lung injury, researchers from the University of Miami and affiliated organizations aimed to evaluate the potential of the GHRH-R antagonist MIA-602 in a mouse model of rVSV-SARS-CoV-2-induced pulmonary dysfunction and heart injury.

Researchers from the University of Queensland discovered that senolytic therapies can suppress long-COVID neuropathology and long-term disorders caused by viral infections by reducing senescent cells, thereby reducing inflammation. Published Nov. 13, 2023, in Nature, the study examined the use of human pluripotent stem cells to generate small mini human brain organoids to screen for antiaging interventions called senolytics that selectively eliminate senescent cells that accumulate with age, lead author Julio Aguado told BioWorld.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is set to conduct a phase I trial with Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.’s TNX-1800 (recombinant horsepox virus, live vaccine), a vaccine candidate to protect against COVID-19.

Researchers from Hokkaido University (Japan) and colleagues have identified 2-thiouridine (s2U) as a broad-spectrum antiviral ribonucleoside analogue, by phenotypic screening of a library of 753 nucleoside analogues for antiviral effects. s2U showed antiviral activity against several ssRNA+ viruses, including DENV, SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern.

Researchers from Generate Biomedicines Inc. have detailed the discovery and preclinical characterization of GB-0669, a spike S2-targeted monoclonal antibody (MAb) being developed for the prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Machine learning models were used to identify MAbs targeting the conserved S2 stem helix and RBD class IV region of spike.

Due to the continual emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutants, there is an unmet clinical need for broad-spectrum treatments for COVID-19. A potential target for novel treatments is the S2 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, which has been highly conserved across the different variants of the virus.

In a study published in Nature on Oct. 11, coinciding with the beginning of IDWeek 2023 in Boston, researchers from Harvard Medical School described EVEscape, a method for anticipating the movements of SARS‑CoV‑2 by predicting potential mutations likely to escape current vaccines and treatments.