A protein from algae may have what it takes to stop Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infections, according to new research.
A recent study has found that mice treated with the protein, Griffithsin (GRFT), had a 100 percent survival rate after exposure to the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), as compared to a 30 percent survival for untreated mice.
The research will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego on Wednesday, May 20.
Despite its dramatic entrance into the domain of worldwide public health threats in 2002, little headway has been made therapeutically toward preventing or treating SARS after infection. But GRFT, a lectin protein derived from algae, offers a new possible hope. GRFT is thought to exert its anti-viral effects by altering the shape of the sugar molecules that line the virus' envelope, allowing it to attach to and invade human cells, where it takes over the cells' reproductive machinery to replicate itself. Without that crucial ability, the virus is unable to cause disease. 
"While preliminary, these results are very exciting and indicate a possible therapeutic approach to future SARS or other coronaviral outbreaks," stated Christine Wohlford-Lenane, senior research assistant at the department of pediatrics University of Iowa and the lead author of the study.