Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a new RNA treatment for Covid-19 that stimulates the body’s immune system and, in the early stages of infection, begins to fight the Corona virus. This method in the preclinical stages of animal experiments was able to completely eradicate the virus even from the body of an immunocompromised mouse.
According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers have developed a composite RNA molecule called SLR14 that mimics the genetic elements SARS-CoV-2 and activates receptors that make type 1 interferons. Interferon is the substance that is produced when a virus enters cells. If the amount of this substance is small, the body will encounter acute samples of Covid-19.
Researchers have shown in animal experiments that if a dose of SLR14 is injected before or shortly after infection, the disease will not progress to acute stages or death. This molecule is effective against all corona species, including the delta species.
Researchers have also tested this method on a mouse with an immunodeficiency problem. The result was that the animal’s immune system was able to completely eradicate the virus. Akiko Iwasaki, one of the authors of the article, says their findings were astonishing. This treatment in particular can help people with immunodeficiency whose body is unable to produce the desired level of antibody or T cell.
Iwasaki notes that this treatment is much cheaper and easier than complex methods such as the use of monoclonal antibodies. However, more research is needed, especially in the human clinical trial phase, so that we can use RNA therapy to fight the coronavirus.
This research will help us prepare for more information on new viruses that may emerge in the future.
