“Identifying and selecting ahead of time the best candidates, prior to costly and laborious in vitro and in vivo experiments and ensuing clinical trials, could significantly improve disease-specific drug development,” adds Bud Mishra, a professor at NYU’s Courant and one of the paper’s senior authors.
COVID-19 has shown to be a daunting challenge over the past three years, even though vaccines and hygienic practices have, over time, lessened its severity. However, despite these tools to combat it, SARS-CoV-2the virus that causes COVID-19continues to spread and take lives. This is due, in part, to its ability to rapidly diversify in its target cell-types, immune-response pathways, and modes of transmission. These traits make traditional approaches to vaccine and drug design less effective than in the pastand especially when the virus co-infects with other pathogens, such as RSV and influenza.
Recognizing that current methods leave us chasing the virus, the teamwhich also included researchers from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health in New York, the Red Cross Blood Bank Foundation Curaçao, the Curaçao Biomedical Health and Research Institute, the Netherlands’ University Medical Center Groningen, and Catania University’s Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Sicilyconceived an approach aimed at closing the gap in future pandemics: repurposing existing drugs to fight back.
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The algorithm computes, taking into account selected cells, cell lines, and tissues and under an array of contexts, by propagating the effects and alterations of biomoleculessuch as differentially expressed genes, proteins, and microRNAsand then calculates antiviral effects. The team confirmed the validity of the tool by comparing its results with recently published in vitro studies, demonstrating PHENSIM’s potential power in aiding effective drug repurposing.
Source: Newswise
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