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Author Spotlight: Advancing Gene Silencing Research in Silkworms with dsRNA Delivery Through Feeding Chitosan Nanoparticles
Published on: October 4, 2024
Low molecular weight chitooligosaccharide inhibits infection of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro
Donghwan Jang1, Dagyum Lee1, Young Chul Shin2
1Clinical Research Center, Masan National Tuberculosis Hospital, Changwon, Republic of Korea.
Aims:
The discovery of antiviral substances to respond to COVID-19 is a global issue, including the field of drug development based on natural materials. Here, we showed that chitosan-based substances have natural antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.
Methods And Results:
The molecular weight of chitosan-based substances was measured by the gel permeation chromatography analysis. In MTT assay, the chitosan-based substances have low cytotoxicity to Vero cells. The antiviral effect of these substances was confirmed by quantitative viral RNA targeting the RdRp and E genes and plaque assay. Among the substances tested, low molecular weight chitooligosaccharide decreased the fluorescence intensity of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein of the virus-infected cells in a dose-dependent manner.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, the chitooligosaccharide, a candidate for natural treatment, has antiviral effects against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro.
Significance And Impact Of Study:
In this study, it was suggested for the first time that chitosan-based substances such as chitooligosaccharide can have an antiviral effect on SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.
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