Synergy of melanin and vitamin-D may play a fundamental role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections and halt COVID-19 by inactivating furin protease

Translational Medicine Communications

Debarati Paul¹  Smritikana Pyne²  Trinath Chowdhury²  Santi M. Mandal²  Ranadhir Chakraborty³  Kishalay Paria⁴ 

[1] Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, 201313, Noida, Sector 125, India;Central Research Facility, Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302, Kharagpur, India;Department of Biotechnology, University of North Bengal, Raja Rammohanpur, 734013, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India;Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India;

关键词: Vitamin-D;    Furin;    Melanin;    SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    Microbial melanin synthesis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41231-020-00073-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Since the birth of Christ, in these 2019 years, the man on earth has never experienced a survival challenge from any acellular protist compared to SARS-CoV-2. No specific drugs yet been approved. The host immunity is the only alternative to prevent and or reduce the infection and mortality rate as well. Here, a novel mechanism of melanin mediated host immunity is proposed having potent biotechnological prospects in health care management of COVID-19. Vitamin D is known to enhance the rate of melanin synthesis; and this may concurrently regulate the expression of furin expression. In silico analyses have revealed that the intermediates of melanin are capable of binding strongly with the active site of furin protease. On the other hand, furin expression is negatively regulated via 1-α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1), that belongs to vitamin-D pathway and controls cellular calcium levels. Here, we have envisaged the availability of biological melanin and elucidated the bio-medical potential. Thus, we propose a possible synergistic application of melanin and the enzyme CYP27B1 (regulates vitamin D biosynthesis) as a novel strategy to prevent viral entry through the inactivation of furin protease and aid in boosting our immunity at the cellular and humoral levels.

【 授权许可】

CC BY