OCTOBER 22, 2020 — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cripple countries around the world, scientists are searching for solutions. UTSA’s Doug E. Frantz, the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has received an award from the San Antonio Medical Foundation to support his collaborative work with UT Health San Antonio and SwRI on a novel approach for COVID-19 drug discovery.
The grant will help fund collaborative studies that combine virology, high-throughput screening, medicinal chemistry and in-silico drug design expertise.
There is currently not an effective treatment for SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Frantz and his collaborators have identified a strategy that can target the entry of enveloped viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, for therapeutic intervention.
The team’s research targets interactions between viral proteins and host cell proteins. They will exploit the established finding that a protein called clycoprotein-S expressed on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 directly binds to the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2) expressed on the surface of lung epithelial host cells. The interaction between the receptor binding domain and ACE2 is required for SAR-CoV-2 to enter cells.
“Through the generous support of the San Antonio Medical Foundation, we will leverage the expertise of the entire collaborative team to discover and develop new antiviral drugs that block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on patients,” said Frantz.
Over the past decade undergraduate and graduate students in Frantz’s lab have designed and synthesized novel small molecular compounds. Frantz in April shipped samples of about 250 of those compounds to collaborators at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for testing. Cells that were infected with SARS-CoV-2 were pretreated with the compounds designed at UTSA.
The compounds have chemical properties similar to hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two immunosuppressive drugs that were previously used to treat and prevent malaria, that have shown promise in reducing effects of COVID-19 in lab studies.
“Our collaborative efforts with Dr. Patricia Aguilar at UTMB Health to repurpose compounds from my lab at UTSA continue to produce exciting results as new potential therapies for not only COVID-19 but other viral infections as well,” said Frantz. “We will be publishing our results shortly and plan to pursue additional funding from the NIH to continue this important collaborative work.”
The typical drug development timeline, from initial research to animal testing to clinical trials to FDA approval, is five to eight years.
“The San Antonio Medical Foundation has supported outstanding research endeavors aimed at advancing biomedical science in our local community for years,” Frantz said. “I am truly flattered to be a part of their mission through this award to develop lifesaving antiviral drugs for COVID-19 with our partners here in San Antonio.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Awards for the events during undergraduate research week, including poster, oral and others, will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony.
Virtual EventDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
