These “Variants of Concern” (VOC) are the result of viral evolution and have the potential to evade vaccine- or infection-induced antiviral immune responses. While vaccination campaigns are ongoing, the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants is becoming a major threat to public health. Altogether, these results indicate that iota-carrageenan might be effective for prophylaxis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections independent of the present and potentially future variants.īy now, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the emergence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus type-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in around 256 million global cases and 5.1 million global deaths. Iota-carrageenan exhibits antiviral activity with comparable IC 50 values against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan type and the VOCs. Here, we demonstrate by using a SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus particles (SSPL) system and patient-isolated SARS-CoV-2 VOCs to infect transgenic A549ACE2/TMPRSS2 and Calu-3 human lung cells that all three carrageenan types exert antiviral activity. Carrageenans as part of broadly used nasal and mouth sprays as well as lozenges have the potential of first line defense to inhibit the infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we investigated the antiviral effect of iota-, lambda- and kappa-carrageenan, sulfated polysaccharides extracted from red seaweed, on SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan type and the spreading variants of concern (VOCs) Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Hence, the need of effective and viable prevention options to reduce viral transmission is of outmost importance. This might also contribute to the emergence of new variants, being more efficiently transmitted, more virulent and more capable of escaping naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity. Vaccine inefficiency, vaccination breakthroughs and lack of supply, especially in developing countries, as well as the fact that a non-negligible part of the population either refuse vaccination or cannot be vaccinated due to age, pre-existing illness or non-response to existing vaccines intensify this issue. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world and remains a major public health threat.
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