Because the common cold is caused by a family of viruses with hundreds of variants, it has thus far been virtually untreatable. Current remedies tend to treat symptoms of the infection rather than the virus itself. According to a paper published today in Nature Chemistry, researchers have lab-tested a molecule that can combat the multitude of viruses that cause the common cold by targeting a protein in human cells that is necessary for the virus's protection.
The protein in human cells that the molecule targets is called N-myristoyltransferase (NMT). All strains of the cold virus ‘hijack’ NMT to construct a capsid that protects the virus genome. The molecule can also work against viruses related to the cold virus, such as polio and foot and mouth disease.
The molecule was discovered while the Imperial College London team were screening large libraries of compounds for a way to target the protein in malaria parasites. They found two hits that appeared to work best together and invented a novel way to combine the two. They named this combination IMP-1088.
In the lab tests, the new molecule completely blocked several strains of the virus without affecting human cells. Further testing will be necessary to ensure the treatment is not toxic in the body.
"The common cold is an inconvenience for most of us, but can cause serious complications in people with conditions like asthma and COPD. A drug like this could be extremely beneficial if given early in infection, and we are working on making a version that could be inhaled, so that it gets to the lungs quickly," said lead researcher Professor Ed Tate.
Image: The novel molecule IMP-1088 (yellow) blocks human NMT (blue), a protein essential for the cold virus to assemble the geometric capsid 'shell' which encloses its RNA genome (green). Image courtesy of Imperial College London.