Preventing spread of SARS coronavirus-2 in humans

(Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ)/German Primate Center) Viruses must enter cells of the human body to cause disease. Infection biologists from the German Primate Center, together with colleagues at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, have investigated how the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 penetrates cells. They have identified a cellular enzyme that is essential for viral entry into lung cells: the protease TMPRSS2. A clinically proven drug known to be active against TMPRSS2 was found to bloc...