Scientists in Bengaluru discover means to tackle Covid variants

BENGALURU: Scientists from the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Unilever Ltd, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) have made a discovery that could help fight current and future variants of SARS-CoV2, the virus causing Covid-19.
A statement issued on Wednesday said that the research team focused on boosting the body’s own antiviral defences instead of targeting the constantly mutating viral proteins.

Specifically, they looked at enhancing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) — substances produced in the human body that can disrupt the fatty outer membrane of viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
They found that higher levels of the AMP cathelicidin (LL37) correlated with milder Covid-19 symptoms, indicating boosting AMPs could prevent infections and transmission. The team then screened for compounds that could enhance LL37’s virus-killing powers and identified niacinamide – a form of vitamin B3 – as a potential amplifier.

Based on these discoveries, the researchers invented a formulation utilising naturally occurring LL37 and niacinamide that could prevent and manage infections from SARS-CoV-2 variants. This combination takes advantage of the body’s inherent defences.
The research was published this November in Frontiers of Immunology, in a paper titled “Niacinamide Enhances Cathelicidin Mediated SARS-CoV-2 Membrane Disruption.”

Prof Colin Jamora

from inStem and Dr. Amitabha Majumdar from Unilever are the senior authors. They leveraged their respective expertise in stem cell biology and product development through this cross-disciplinary collaboration.
InStem Director

Prof Maneesha Inamdar

commended the translational work, noting “this is an excellent illustration of how collaborative and cross-disciplinary approaches are applied at inStem, to progress from basic science to translation.”
Vibhav Sanzgiri

, Executive Director of R&D at Hindustan Unilever Limited, envisioned incorporating the discovery into everyday products like soaps and sanitizers. This would provide natural virus protection alongside vaccines.
NCBS-TIFR Centre Director Prof. LS Shashidhara also highlighted the significance of such industry-academia partnerships in preparing for future pandemics.
Unilever’s Global VP of R&D

Samantha Samaras

reinforced their commitment to fundamental research with academic institutes, saying this collaboration has led to better products that can improve people's lives.
Overall, the breakthrough presents a potent new addition to our arsenal against Covid-19 variants and demonstrates the immense value of cross-sectoral partnerships in combating infectious diseases through enhancing innate immunity.