Bio researchers/ Scientists will soon be able to develop antivirals to treat MPOX, formerly known as monkeypox as well as Covid.
Since May 2022, MPOX has infected over 86,900 people worldwide and spread to over 100 different nations.
The protein methyltransferase from the monkeypox virus was deciphered by a team from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague.
This protein enables the virus to bypass human defences and spread, leading to the illness known as monkeypox. They created compounds that can inhibit the activity of methyltransferase in response to this discovery.
The findings of this study, which were published in Nature Communications, might represent the first step in the development of an entirely new class of antivirals.
This holds true for illnesses brought on by other viruses as well, the authors added, such as Covid-19 brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Over 763 million people worldwide have contracted the deadly Covid virus, which has also claimed more than 6.9 million lives.
IOCB researchers have been researching viruses that cause serious diseases for a long time. In the past, they concentrated on the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 or the flavivirus group's Zika virus.
The monkeypox virus reproduces in a host cell like other viruses do. It must be able to distinguish between which RNA molecules are its own and which are not if it is to protect itself from outside attack.
"In order to facilitate identification, native RNA molecules carry a unique marking known as a cap. Infected cells respond with inherent antiviral immunity when exposed to an unmarked molecule. As a result, viruses attempt to trick the human body. For instance, the monkeypox virus confuses the body by also attaching a cap to its RNA, according to Evzen Boura of the IOCB.
Monkeypox symptoms match those of smallpox, which has already been completely eradicated. The virus that causes it was only recently discovered in Central and Western Africa.
Primates and rodents are its natural reservoirs. It can lead to an illness in people that has a three to six percent fatality rate. Although this is higher than, for instance, Covid-19, it is still much lower than in the case of smallpox.
Since the monkeypox virus has recently spread throughout the world, it is understandable why the general public and public authorities, in addition to experts, are anxiously monitoring the possibility of another global viral pandemic.
"Our colleagues have found a way to merge structural biology and modern pharmaceutical chemistry properly. That has brought us one step closer to finding new antivirals, according to IOCB Prague director Prof. Jan Konvalinka.
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