• Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
24/7 Health News
No Result
View All Result
Home Article

A liver disease drug could be repurposed to protect against COVID – new research

December 5, 2022
in Article
A liver disease drug could be repurposed to protect against COVID – new research
This drug could be effective regardless of the COVID variant. Explode/Shutterstock

Almost three years into the pandemic, we’re still regularly seeing hundreds of thousands of new COVID cases recorded each day worldwide. In a new study, involving a combination of miniature organ models, donor organs, animals and humans, we’ve shown that a drug used to treat liver disease could be repurposed to protect against COVID-19.

Vaccines are one of the most potent weapons in our pandemic response, but not everyone can benefit from them. COVID vaccines work by training our immune system to recognise and destroy SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. As such, they’re not effective for people with a poorly functioning immune system, for example patients taking medications to suppress immune function after an organ transplant.

The virus can also disguise itself to avoid the immune system recognising it, by mutating into new variants and thereby lowering vaccine effectiveness.

Finally, vaccines are not equally accessible, with only one in four people in low income countries having received at least one dose.

In light of these challenges, we wanted to develop a strategy to protect from COVID-19 which could complement vaccination. We decided to target the “doorway” that SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect cells, a receptor called ACE2.

The ‘doorway’ to SARS-CoV-2 infection

There are a couple of key reasons we targeted ACE2 receptors. First, blocking this viral entry doorway doesn’t require an optimally functioning immune system, so this method should be effective even in people who are immunocompromised.

And second, ACE2 receptors are produced by our own cells, so are not affected by changes in the virus (that is, new variants), hopefully making this method more resilient as SARS-CoV-2 evolves.

So we were optimistic when we identified an existing drug that could modify ACE2 receptors. It’s possible this drug could be rapidly repurposed against COVID-19.




Read more:
COVID: antiviral drugs are a vital weapon – but misusing them could backfire


This research began from a serendipitous finding. In the Sampaziotis lab at the University of Cambridge we focus on liver regeneration and bile duct diseases, which are the leading cause of liver transplantation in children.

Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and drained into the intestine through tubes called bile ducts. At the beginning of the pandemic, we were studying the effects of bile on bile ducts using miniature versions grown in a dish, known as organoids.

A woman holds a glass of water and a tablet.
UDCA is taken orally by many patients with liver disease.
Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock

We found that a bile-sensing molecule called FXR, which is abundant in the liver, controls the expression of many molecules in bile duct cells, including ACE2. When ACE2 was identified as the viral entry doorway for SARS-CoV-2 we decided to explore whether drugs targeting FXR could reduce ACE2 receptors and therefore viral infection.

We identified that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a clinically approved drug currently used for liver disease, had this effect on the mini bile ducts. We successfully repeated our experiments using miniature lungs and miniature guts in the lab, as these organs are commonly affected by COVID-19.

We then validated these findings in hamsters to make sure our lab results held true in a living organism. To test if these findings could be translated to humans, we used a pair of donated human lungs which were not suitable for transplantation. We infected both lungs with SARS-CoV-2, but only one lung was treated with UDCA. We found that the lung that received the drug did not become infected, while the other lung did.

The lungs used in the study.
We kept the lungs alive outside the body using warm blood-like fluid.
Teresa Brevini, Author provided

The next step was to test UDCA’s efficacy in reducing ACE2 receptors in humans. We recruited eight healthy volunteers, gave them UDCA, and then swabbed their noses. We observed a reduction of ACE2 in their nasal cells, the main point of entry for the virus into the body, suggesting SARS-CoV-2 would have fewer opportunities to infect these cells.

Finally, since UDCA is widely used in clinical practice, we examined existing data to compare COVID outcomes among people taking UDCA for their liver conditions with outcomes among people not taking UDCA. We found that people taking UDCA were less likely to develop moderate, severe or critical COVID than those who did not receive the drug.

What could this all mean?

UDCA has been on the market for 30 years, and is very safe, with few side effects. In addition, the drug is off-patent, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture, store and administer (it’s taken in tablet form), rendering it convenient to deploy during an outbreak.

Although our results suggest that UDCA could protect against COVID, this study is not a clinical trial and only offers data supporting this hypothesis. The next step will be to confirm our findings in a large randomised clinical trial. We don’t support the use of UDCA for COVID until appropriate policy based on robust clinical evidence is available.




Read more:
COVID: WHO recommends two new treatments – here’s how they work


In the future, UDCA would not replace current COVID treatments or highly effective vaccinations, but may be able to expand our arsenal of weapons against the virus. It could offer an alternative strategy which is not dependent on the immune system or subject to immune escape because of viral mutations.

The Conversation

Fotios Sampaziotis is a founder and shareholder of Bilitech LTD. This research has been supported by a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant.

Teresa Brevini does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ShareTweetSharePin
Next Post

Medical jargon is often misunderstood by the general public – new study

Most Read

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

December 15, 2022
morning back pain

Morning Again Ache Trigger Is Not the Mattress

October 11, 2021

4 steps to building a healthier relationship with your phone

January 28, 2025

Why Circadian Rhythms Matter for Your Health

July 30, 2024
lower back pain relief exercises

5 decrease again ache aid workouts

October 11, 2021
Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

December 14, 2022
bleeding in gum

When The Bleeding in gum Is Severe ?

October 11, 2021
Good Night Sleep

6 Causes of Good Evening Sleep

October 11, 2021
3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

October 15, 2021
Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

January 3, 2023
Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

May 20, 2025
Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

October 12, 2021

COVID vaccines: how one can pace up rollout in poorer international locations

October 5, 2021

Maximize Your Performance – Sync with Your Circadian Rhythms

August 9, 2024
Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

December 30, 2022

This Simple Hygiene Habit Could Cut Your Risk of Stroke, New Research Reveals

February 1, 2025

Multiple sclerosis: the link with earlier infection just got stronger – new study

October 12, 2021
Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

December 16, 2021
Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

December 1, 2021
woman covered with white blanket

Exploring the Impact of Sleep Patterns on Mental Health

August 4, 2024
Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

December 2, 2022
News of war can impact your mental health — here’s how to cope

Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know

December 2, 2022
FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

May 21, 2025
As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

December 14, 2022
GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

December 16, 2022
Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

December 22, 2022
Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

January 28, 2025
How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

July 6, 2022
How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

October 24, 2021
The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

January 4, 2022
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS

  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS