How the coronavirus affects the body

The pandemic showed how different the symptoms that SARS-CoV-2 triggers can be. Diarrhea, rash, kidney failure – new effects are constantly being discovered. People around the world are researching why this is so day and night as part of what is arguably the largest and fastest research campaign in recent history. But above all, they are looking for an antidote.

An antidote could intervene at various points in the virus cycle you just explored. One possibility would be to use well-known drugs that prevent too many messenger substances from being produced. This could reduce inflammation and thus lead to a milder course of Covid-19 disease.

A second strategy aims to sabotage the virus’ replication process. There is a lot of discussion, for example, about the drug Remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat Ebola. It disguises itself as an RNA building block in the cell. If it is incorporated into the RNA of the virus, it remains attached to the protein that assembles the new RNA. This means that the genetic information can no longer be reproduced. The virus has stopped multiplying. Initial interim results give hope that the drug could at least slow down serious illnesses. Further research attempts are trying to disrupt the production of other virus components in the cell.

Research has also targeted the spikes. It has the perfect docking point for the body’s own enzyme furin, which is found primarily in the lungs, but also in the rest of the body. Furin helps in the cell to give the newly produced spike proteins the necessary cut. This makes it easier for the virus to penetrate new host cells. If furin’s function could be inhibited, this could stop the virus from spreading, especially in the lungs. Some scientists therefore hope that this could be a good starting point for the search for a vaccine.

A corona virus without the furin docking site could spread more severely in the body. Such live vaccinations, in which you inject a weakened form of a pathogen, are common for measles or yellow fever. The corona virus would then be so weak that it would not cause any symptoms, but the immune system could still react and produce antibodies. They would protect you from infection for a long time.

Although thousands of researchers in many countries around the world are looking for these solutions, their analysis usually takes a long time. If they are successful and discover a vaccine or a drug, production processes for it still have to be changed or developed. Then it has to be negotiated how and from whom all the research is to be paid – and who gets the antidote first.

Until then, only interpersonal measures against the spread of the virus will help. Take care of each other!

–