CHEARS

As the Covid surge in India increases, many possible drugs are in the limelight. The very first wave saw the gush for hydroxychloroquine and now remdesiver. It was used as antiviral drugs over the Covid infection. Recently there has been a newly tested generic compound the 2DG in short. The 2-deoxy D glucose has been tested against Covid by the DRDO, India and came into mass manufacturing at a low cost by Dr. Reddy's laboratory, India. This move is appreciable as it would be a saviour for many severely infected patients. As per the Press Information Bureau, New Delhi, the drug is said to facilitate the airways by inhibiting the virus from attaching to its specific receptor. But how does it happen? 2DG, a glucose analogue that does inhibit a major energy-producing metabolic pathway called the glycolysis, so the glucose (here 2DG) would remain unmetabolised. Once energy is insufficient, the Covid viral genome will starve from enough energy supply, thus affecting the viral replication. This would facilitate a temporary free airway to breathe. By the time the immune system is believed to take any action against the starving and loosely bound virus at the pulmonary region.

A previous study in 1982 proving the antiviral activity of 2DG by a team in Yale University in Herpes Simplex Virus showed data suggesting this analogue alters the viral glycoprotein on the surface of the virion, which facilitates its attachment to the host tissue. This altered glycoprotein was due to one or more defective steps in the viral replication process coding these proteins. It was concluded that viruses treated by 2DG can attach to the host cell but with null infectivity and lacks penetration into the host cell.

As of today, we are suffering really hard to fight against covid and 2DG has been one good news to all victims. Thus cheating the cheater! Redeeming the feature of this generic compound by fooling the virus is one hope we all have right now.