Not just from blood clots
An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Liverpool and the University of Kiel, who collaborated with the UK Department of Health, found that the well-known anticoagulant drug heparin, which is recommended for protection against thrombosis in coronavirus infection, inhibits the spike protein of the SARS-Cov2 virus, reducing the ability of the virus to attach to human cells and infect them.
The study showed that heparin interacts with the thorn on the surface of the coronavirus, destabilizes its structure and prevents contact with the ACE2 receptor on human cells.
Molecular modeling conducted by researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia showed how heparin can attach to a spike protein to achieve these effects, and studies with the live SARS-CoV2 virus conducted in the laboratory of the UK Department of Health in Porton Down showed that unfractionated heparin (but not low-molecular-weight heparins) at doses similar to those of, which are currently used in clinical practice as an anticoagulant, may inhibit the ability of the coronavirus to infect cells.
It is important to note that the powerful antiviral effects strongly confirm the importance of clinical studies of inhaled unfractionated heparin.
Currently, studies are being developed on the effectiveness of heparin analogues that could potentially be effective against SARS-CoV2. It is known that heparins also suppress a number of other viruses, so the study of drugs in this group may provide strategies for treatment and protection against new viral threats in the future.
Further work to study the potential of heparin and heparin-mimicking compounds as potential broad-spectrum antiviral drugs from Covid-19 continues.
Article by J.A.Tree et al. Unfractionated heparin inhibits live wild type SARS-CoV-2 cell infection at therapeutically relevant concentrations published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the University of Liverpool: Anticoagulant drug heparin targets coronavirus spike protein and could be repurposed to treat COVID-19.