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Looks like Zinc in vital against Coronavirus. This is from a study about Chloroquine which actually drives Zinc into the cells, killing the virus. The thought is that the people having a hard time with Corona are potentially zinc deficient. Chloroquine enhanced zinc uptake by A2780 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, as assayed using a fluorescent zinc probe. This enhancement was attenuated by TPEN, a high affinity metal-binding compound, indicating the specificity of the zinc uptake. Although that study was focused on cancer cells, we also know that zinc blocks coronavirus RNA polymerase activity, which is what the coronavirus uses to replicate. This paper, published in another PLoS journal, specifically talks about “zinc ionophores” blocking the replication of coronavirus in cell cultures: “Zn(2+) inhibits coronavirus and arterivirus RNA polymerase activity in vitro and zinc ionophores block the replication of these viruses in cell culture.”
