Scientists of the Russian-American Anti-Cancer Center of Altai State University, together with their Mongolian colleagues, are working to find drugs to treat coronavirus

Petr Kolosov, a scientist of the Russian-American Anti-Cancer Center of Altai State University, visited the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences.

As part of the project "Development of a comprehensive method for the isolation and in vitro analysis of biologically active fractions of medicinal plants", supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in 2020, a unique international team was formed to study the chemical composition and biological activity of medicinal plants growing in Altai Krai, the Altai Republic and Mongolia.

Mutually beneficial cooperation has been established between scientists: Russian specialists have access to endemic plants of Mongolia, their Mongolian colleagues have at their disposal a number of modern methods for assessing the in vitro activity of chemical compounds and other developments of Russian scientists in the field of chemistry of natural compounds. It is noteworthy that these methods are put together within the same laboratory.

Petr Kolosov, a senior researcher at the Russian-American Anti-Cancer Center of Altai State University, visited the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in order to work out research protocols for extracts obtained over the two years of the project and showing inhibitory activity against the 3CL pro coronavirus protease. Put simply, the extracts slow down the vital activity of the coronavirus.

“We are preparing to sign a cooperation agreement with the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences. For the past two years of successful implementation of the project, we have been cooperating with the laboratory of cellular technologies of Professor Tsogtsaikhan in a remote format due to a number of restrictions. And now there is an opportunity for face-to-face exchange of information, acquaintance with the protocols of the work of the laboratory, and the staff of the laboratory,” said Petr Kolosov. “As part of the planned trip, we tested a number of extracts. Preliminary experiments revealed great potential for collaboration. Of course, it is necessary to continue this cooperation, perhaps it is necessary to plan a number of trips for grant executors, both on our part and on the part of our Mongolian colleagues.”

Since 2012, a group led by Candidate of Biological Sciences Dmitry Shcherbakov has been working on the study of the chemical composition of lipophilic compounds of endemic plants of Siberia. Within the framework of this work, the chemical composition and biological activity of hexane and ether extracts of leafy shoots of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L) have been studied. The composition of lipophilic fractions of conifers, Siberian pine (Pínus sibírica) and Siberian fir (Ábies sibírica) has also been studied. A number of original approaches for the analytical and preparative fractionation of lipid extracts using column chromatography have been developed together with T. Kukina, Candidate of Chemical Sciences. Approbation of the developed approaches was carried out on oil samples of oil crops. The results of some of the papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Together with the staff of the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (O. Yarovaya, Candidate of Chemical Sciences), work is underway to assess the biological activity of compounds based on natural terpenoids. In particular, the biological activity was determined using a pseudovirus system. The results are published in a peer-reviewed journal. A patent of the Russian Federation has been received.

At the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences in recent years, work has been carried out to develop a number of modern methods for analyzing biological activity. In particular, in vitro technologies for studying intracellular signal transduction pathways and the production of end products of inflammation, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFNgamma) and inflammatory mediators (NO), and molecules involved in signal transduction in response to inflammatory factors (LPS, etc.). In this direction, 10 works of the master’s degree have been prepared. In addition, two doctoral dissertations have been prepared to study the activity of thalidomide and valproic acid on the inflammatory process based on these protocols.