Dr Andrew Old, deputy director general of health and head of the Public Health Agency, holds a media briefing to provide an update on the Covid-19 and winter health response. Video / Supplied
A new inhaler therapy that alters genetic data in the lungs to stop coronavirus taking hold is on the horizon.
The treatment works by sending nanoparticles into the lungs containing tiny molecular scissors that snip away genetic messages instructing the body to produce an enzyme called 'cathepsin L'.
The enzyme is known to play a key role in coronavirus and other respiratory infections, enabling the virus to enter host cells and proliferate.
Without 'cathepsin L', coronavirus struggles to take root - and scientists are hopeful that the treatment could be used in the days before or after risky events, such as plane journeys or weddings.
Professor Qianben Wang, senior author from the Department of Pathology at Duke University School of Medicine, said: "We are studying whether the treatment could be administered via an aerosol so people may carry an inhaler with them to big sporting events or long plane rides, taking a puff before or shortly after to reduce their risk.
"Our results suggest that the technology represents a unique strategy for controlling a coronavirus infection and should be pursued as a potential approach for treating Covid."
The proposed treatment harnesses a natural defence mechanism of bacteria known as Crispr. File photo / 123RF
So far, the therapy has only been tested successfully in animals - but researchers at Duke University are hopeful they can move to human trials "in the near future".
The treatment harnesses a natural defence mechanism of bacteria known as Crispr, which allows microbes to detect and destroy other organisms by targeting specific parts of their DNA.
In this case, it is not DNA that is altered but messenger RNA - molecules that carry the DNA instructions to cells, where they are acted upon.
Targeting these messenger molecules means that the therapy is more short-lived than directly tweaking genes, and so has no long-lasting impact on the body. The effects are likely to last a few days.
And because the therapy is not dependent on recognising specific viruses, it should work for all variants of coronavirus, as well as other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, or MERS.
Treatment could be used for future coronaviruses
Researchers believe it could also be used as a treatment, lowering the amount of virus in the body and preventing a deadly immune overreaction.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that Crispr can be used as a treatment for a coronavirus infection," added Professor Wang.
"This nanosystem can be easily adapted in the future to target infection by other DNA viruses, such as hepatitis B.
"And this approach can be used for combating infections by current coronaviruses and future emerging/re-emerging coronaviruses."
The research was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
