TY - JOUR
T1 - The OM-85 bacterial lysate
T2 - A new tool against SARS-CoV-2?
AU - Pivniouk, Vadim
AU - Vercelli, Donata
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was funded in part by a research grant provided by OM Pharma SA to the University of Arizona.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, caused the global Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Because SARS-CoV-2 mutates rapidly, vaccines that induce immune responses against viral components critical for target cell infection strongly mitigate but do not abrogate viral spread, and disease rates remain high worldwide. Complementary treatments are therefore needed to reduce the frequency and/or severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections. OM-85, a standardized lysate of 21 bacterial strains often found in the human airways, has immuno-modulatory properties and is widely used empirically in Europe, South America and Asia for the prophylaxis of recurrent upper airway infections in adults and children, with excellent safety profiles. In vitro studies from our laboratory recently demonstrated that OM-85 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 epithelial cell infection by downregulating SARS-CoV-2 receptor expression, raising the possibility that this bacterial extract might eventually complement the current COVID-19 therapeutic toolkit. Here we discuss how our results and those from other groups are fostering progress in this emerging field of research.
AB - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, caused the global Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Because SARS-CoV-2 mutates rapidly, vaccines that induce immune responses against viral components critical for target cell infection strongly mitigate but do not abrogate viral spread, and disease rates remain high worldwide. Complementary treatments are therefore needed to reduce the frequency and/or severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections. OM-85, a standardized lysate of 21 bacterial strains often found in the human airways, has immuno-modulatory properties and is widely used empirically in Europe, South America and Asia for the prophylaxis of recurrent upper airway infections in adults and children, with excellent safety profiles. In vitro studies from our laboratory recently demonstrated that OM-85 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 epithelial cell infection by downregulating SARS-CoV-2 receptor expression, raising the possibility that this bacterial extract might eventually complement the current COVID-19 therapeutic toolkit. Here we discuss how our results and those from other groups are fostering progress in this emerging field of research.
KW - ACE2
KW - OM-85 bacterial lysate
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - TMPRSS2
KW - epithelial cell infection
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U2 - 10.4081/mrm.2023.906
DO - 10.4081/mrm.2023.906
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85147875219
SN - 1828-695X
VL - 18
JO - Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine
JF - Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine
M1 - 906
ER -