Ung, Heart Cells Research Paves Way For More Targeted COVID-19 Treatments

Australian researchers have found lung and heart cells respond differently to SARS-CoV-2, paving the way for more targeted treatments for COVID-19, reports AFP.

Heart and lung stem cells infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 have been used to better understand how the disease impacts different organs in a research co-led by Melbourne-sited Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, according to the latest article published on the MCRI website.

The research found that responses to the SARS-CoV-2 varied significantly, allowing the team to identify effective anti-viral drugs to treat infection in heart and lung cells, said the article.

The research findings were published in the 10th-anniversary edition of Stem Cell Reports, it said.

Discovering that COVID-19 triggered variable cellular responses in different organs would provide new insights into treatment strategies, said MCRI's associate professor David Elliott.

"Our findings highlight the importance of using several cell types for the evaluation of antiviral drugs to determine the best drug combinations for effective treatment of a virus that affects multiple organ systems," he said.