Why the Omicron variant causes less severe disease
Eight COVID-19 drugs remain active against Omicron in cell culture study


Date:
January 24, 2022
Source:
Goethe University Frankfurt
Summary:
A new study shows that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less
effective than Delta at blocking a cellular defense mechanism
against viruses, the so-called 'interferon response'. Moreover,
cell culture findings indicate that eight important COVID-19 drugs
and drug candidates remain effective against Omicron.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study by researchers from the University of Kent and the Goethe University Frankfurt shows that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less effective than Delta at blocking a cellular defence mechanism against
viruses, the so-called "interferon response." Moreover, cell culture
findings indicate that eight important COVID-19 drugs and drug candidates remain effective against Omicron.


==========================================================================
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant causes less severe disease than Delta
although it is better at escaping immune protection by vaccinations and previous infections. The reasons for this have so far remained elusive.

A new study by a research team with scientists from the University
of Kent and the Goethe-University Frankfurt has now shown that Omicron
variant viruses are particularly sensitive to inhibition by the so-called interferon response, an unspecific immune response that is present in
all body cells. This provides the first explanation of why COVID-19
patients infected with the Omicron variant are less likely to experience
severe disease.

The cell culture study also showed that Omicron viruses remain sensitive
to eight of the most important antiviral drugs and drug candidates for
the treatment of COVID-19. This included: EIDD-1931 (active metabolite
of molnupiravir), ribavirin, remdesivir, favipravir, PF-07321332
(nirmatrelvir, active ingredient of paxlovid), nafamostat, camostat,
and aprotinin.

Prof Martin Michaelis, School of Bioscience, University of Kent, said:
"Our study provides for the first time an explanation, why Omicron
infections are less likely to cause severe disease. This is due to
Omicron, in contrast to Delta, does not effectively inhibit the host
cell interferon immune response." Prof. Jindrich Cinatl, Institute
of Medical Virology at the Goethe-University, added: "Although
cell culture experiments do not exactly reflect the more complex
situation in a patient, our data provide encouraging evidence that the available antiviral COVID-19 drugs are also effective against Omicron." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Goethe_University_Frankfurt. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Denisa Bojkova, Marek Widera, Sandra Ciesek, Mark N. Wass, Martin
Michaelis, Jindrich Cinatl. Reduced interferon antagonism but
similar drug sensitivity in Omicron variant compared to Delta
variant of SARS- CoV-2 isolates. Cell Research, 2022; DOI:
10.1038/s41422-022-00619-9 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220124203747.htm

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