A new Penn Medicine study shows how anti-androgen drugs disrupt key receptors required for viral invasion of cells.
Hormone drugs that reduce androgen levels may help disarm the coronavirus spike protein used to infect cells and stop the progression of severe COVID-19 disease, suggests a new preclinical study from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in Cell Press’s iScience.
Researchers show how two receptors — known as ACE2 and TMPRSS2 — are regulated by the androgen hormone and used by SARS-CoV-2 to gain entry into host cells. Blocking the receptors with the clinically proven inhibitor Camostat and other anti-androgen therapies prevented viral entry and replication, they also showed in lab studies.
Hormone Drugs May Disarm Coronavirus Spike Protein and Stop COVID-19 Disease Progression.