Study Explores Possible Therapeutic Target for SARS-CoV-2

Inhibiting a specific protein complex in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may be a promising therapeutic target for treating the disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Similar to other RNA viruses, the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 contains a “capping” modification which stabilizes and improves viral translation as well as protects the virus from degradation by the host’s immune system and allows it to proliferate.