Fanshawe College at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd in London. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)Fanshawe College at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd in London. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

Fanshawe College joins race to find COVID-19 treatment

Using small proteins to block the spread of COVID-19 in those infected with the virus is the focus of a new study being conducted at Fanshawe College.

Abdulla Mahboob, manager of Fanshawe’s Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Biotechnology (CARIB) labs, is researching how to hinder the virus' replication process through a custom inhibitor.

“When a virus enters the body, its ability to produce devastating effects is due to its capacity to make copies of itself while evading the body’s immune system,” Mahboob said in a statement. “In coronaviruses, certain proteins are required to bind together to make the viral genetic material look more like the cell’s, hence evading the protective mechanisms that have evolved to recognize unusual genetic materials. If we stop the proteins from binding together, we can expose the virus to the cell’s immunity, which in turn will stop the spread of the virus itself in the patient.”

Mahboob is using mammalian cells that contain specific virus hindering proteins. If deemed successful within his lab, the inhibitors will be sent to an outside lab for further testing on laboratory-grown COVID-19 cells.

A second potential treatment of the virus being researched by Fanshawe includes a study into cannabis-extract therapies, which scientists have said could ease blood clots and inflammation in the most critically ill COVID-19 patients.

“The work being done in applied research at Fanshawe is very responsive to immediate needs in our world,” said Colin Yates, chair of the Centre for Research and Innovation. “Because of the collective knowledge and advanced facilities within our institution, our team is able to address emerging challenges in house. This setup has allowed us to immediately answer the call to join the COVID-19 fight.”

Preliminary results of the research being conducted are showing "promise," according to the college.

Read More Local Stories