#  RCCHU SCIENCE SEMINAR SERIES. Use of Dextran Sulfates Secreted by Bacteria as Broad-Spectrum Antivirals 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **October 8, 2024** 

 02:00PM - 03:00PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Virtual event**  



 

 [ LINK ZOOM arrow\_circle\_right ](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85462207398?pwd=9KacfDCibqKPeebe0Av5BavPYdaiMU.1) 

 



 

 ![J](/sites/g/files/omnuum986/files/2024-09/Imagen%20Harvard%20seminario%20Sabina-2.jpg)

 

**Speaker: Dr. Sabina Andreu** *(Group of Neurovirology. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)*

The emergent human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its resistance to current drugs makes the need for new potent treatments for COVID-19 patients strongly necessary. Dextran sulfate (DS) polysaccharides have long demonstrated antiviral activity against different enveloped viruses *in vitro*. However, their poor bioavailability has led to their abandonment as antiviral candidates. Here, we report for the first time the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of a DS-based extrapolymeric substance produced by the lactic acid bacterium *Leuconostoc mesenteroides* B512F. Time of addition assays with SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses in *in vitro* models confirm the inhibitory activity of DSs in the early stages of viral infection (viral entry). In addition, this exopolysaccharide substance also reports broad-spectrum antiviral activity against several enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, HCoV-229E, HSV-1, in *in vitro* models and in human lung tissue. The toxicity and antiviral capacity of DS from *L. mesenteroides* was tested *in vivo* in mouse models which are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The described DS, administered by inhalation, a new route of administration for these types of polymers, shows strong inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection *in vivo*, significantly reducing animal mortality and morbidity at non-toxic doses. Therefore, we suggest that it may be considered as a potential candidate for antiviral therapy against SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses.



 

 

 



 

 

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