Boston: Following months of interdisciplinary research study examining tens of countless lung cells contaminated with the novel coronavirus, researchers have actually created one of the most thorough maps to date of the molecular activities that are set off inside these cells at the start of the viral infection, an advance that may lead to the advancement of new drugs to fight COVID-19.

From their analysis, the researchers, consisting of those from Boston University in the United States, found close to 18 existing drugs authorized by the United States Fda (FDA) that might possibly be repurposed to combat COVID-19 soon after an individual becomes contaminated.

They said five of these drugs might minimize the spread of the coronavirus in human lung cells by more than 90 per cent.In the research, published in the journal Molecular Cell, the researchers all at once contaminated 10s of thousands of lab-grown human lung cells with the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and tracked what happens in these cells throughout the moments after infection.They stated these crafted cells are not completely identical to the living, breathing cells inside our bodies, however are the closest thing to it.

What makes this research uncommon is that we took a look at really early time points [of infection], at simply one hour after the infection infects lung cells.

It was frightening to see that the virus already begins to damage the cells so early throughout infection, said study co-author and virologist Elke Muhlberger from Boston University (BU).

According to the scientists, the virus does wholesale remodeling of the lung cells.

It's amazing the degree to which the virus commandeers the cells it contaminates, stated Andrew Emili, another co-author of the research study from BU.Since infections can not duplicate themselves, they pirate the host cell equipment to make copies of its hereditary material.In the study, the researchers discovered that when SARS-CoV-2 takes control of, it totally alters the cells' metabolic processes.The virus even damages the cells' nuclear membranes within three to 6 hours after infection, which the team stated was really surprising.

In contrast, cells contaminated with the deadly Ebola virus don't show any apparent structural changes at these early time points of infection, and even at late stages of infection, the nuclear membrane is still undamaged, Muhlberger said.The researchers discussed that the cell's nuclear membrane surrounds the nucleus, which holds most of the hereditary information, and controls and regulates normal cellular functions.With the nucleus jeopardized by the coronavirus, they stated things quickly take a bad turn for the whole cell.

The lung cells-- which normally play a role in preserving the vital gas exchange of oxygen and co2 that takes place when we breathe-- pass away under this siege, the research study noted.According to the scientists, the cells likewise discharge call for help which boost inflammation as they pass away, activating a waterfall of biological activity that speeds up more cell death.This ultimately results in pneumonia, acute breathing distress, and lung failure, they explained.

I could not have forecasted a great deal of these pathways, most of them were news to me.

That's why our [speculative] model is so valuable, said Andrew Wilson, one of the study's senior authors.

Click Deccan Chronicle Innovation and Science for the most recent news and reviews.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.