New substances in the fight against coronaviruses - a team from the Department of Recombinant Vaccines at IFB UG and MUG, led by dr hab. Ewelina Król, prof. UG, has published an article entitled ‘Anticoronavirus Activity of Uridine Glycoconjugates Containing a 1,2,3-Triazole Moiety’ in the prestigious ‘Journal of Medicinal Chemistry’. The publication is the result of cooperation with the team of dr hab. inż. Gabriela Pastuch-Gawołek, prof. PŚ from the Silesian University of Technology.
The research that formed the basis of the publication concerned the synthesis of uridine glycoconjugates containing 1,2,3-triazole groups and the evaluation of their antiviral potential against two coronaviruses: MHV, which causes hepatitis in mice, and the human coronavirus HCoV-NL63. Four of the synthesised compounds showed strong antiviral activity against both viruses, and further tests proved that they are also active against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
‘Our research has shown that the compounds we have obtained significantly inhibit the replication of coronaviruses and may therefore prove to be effective broad-spectrum antiviral compounds,’ explains dr hab. Ewelina Król, prof. UG, Dean of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology at the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk, and co-author of the article. ‘Coronaviruses cause serious diseases in vertebrates, including humans, and can spread quite rapidly between host species. Despite the availability of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, infections with this virus are still common. Therefore, it is very important that we have effective treatments available.’
The publication in the ‘Journal of Medicinal Chemistry’ has 200 points according to the ministerial list; its impact factor is 6.8. Authors of the article: dr Małgorzata Graul, dr Gabriela Brzuska, mgr Ewa Wiśniewska, dr Monika Domińska, dr Petra Strakova, prof. Daniel Ruzek, dr hab. inż. Gabriela Pastuch-Gawołek, prof. PŚ and dr hab. Ewelina Król, prof. UG.
The article can be read here: Anticoronavirus Activity of Uridine Glycoconjugates Containing a 1,2,3-Triazole Moiety | Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.