Reportage du journal du CNRS sur la recherche d'un médicament efficace contre le virus SARS-CoV-2 en un temps record. Une course contre la montre qui se déroule in vitro, in vivo et même... in silico.

Our article on human RSV-induced immune signature of infection is now published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

In this study, we applied a tailored transcriptomics workflow to exploit nasal wash samples from children who tested positive for HRSV. Our analysis revealed a characteristic immune signature as a direct reflection of HRSV pathogenesis and highlighted putative biomarkers of interest such as IP-10, TMEM190, MCEMP1 or TIMM23.

Les résultats de notre étude sur les effets de l’hydroxychloroquine, associée ou non à l’azithromycine, dans un modèle d’infection expérimentale chez le macaque par le virus SARS-CoV-2 ont été publiés dans la revue Nature.

Notre laboratoire VirPath est fier d’avoir participé à ce travail collaboratif mené par le CEA, l'Inserm, l'Institut Pasteur, le CNRS - Centre national de la recherche scientifique, l’Université de Paris-Saclay, APHM (Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Marseille) et Aix-Marseille Université, sous l’égide du consortium multidisciplinaire REACTing. Nos modèles d’infection en épithélium respiratoire humain reconstitué ont été prédictifs des résultats obtenus en modèle de primate, qui démontrent que l’hydroxychloroquine n’a pas d’efficacité antivirale in vivo, et ce malgré une exposition pulmonaire importante.

Our article on the characterization of human reconstituted airway epithelial models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and their use for the preclinical evaluation of antiviral candidates is now published in Cell Reports Medecine.

In this study, we provide evidence on the antiviral efficacy of Remdesivir and the therapeutic potential of the Remdesivir-Diltiazem combination as a rapidly available and promising option to respond to the current medical need imposed by COVID-19. This combination of a virus-directed plus a host-directed drug stimulating endogenous expression of type I and type III interferons could not only result in enhanced antiviral and/or immunomodulatory effects, but also reduce the therapeutic doses of chemotherapeutic agents targeting nucleic acid synthesis in order to minimize putative adverse side effects.

Our comment on France's COVID-19 response is now published in The Lancet.

Our article on the in vitro evaluation of compounds, known for their cellular broad-spectrum activities, together with drugs that are under evaluation in clinical trials for COVID-19 patients is now published in Antiviral Research.

In this study, we report the antiviral effect of remdesivir, lopinavir, chloroquine, umifenovir, berberine and cyclosporine A in Vero E6 cells model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Virus-directed plus host-directed drug combinations were also investigated. We report strong antagonism for remdesivir/berberine and high level of synergy for remdesivir/diltiazem drug combinations. These combinations of host-directed drugs with direct acting antivirals open interesting avenues for the treatment of COVID-19.