Michael Lisanti on Antibiotics, Anti-Aging Drugs for COVID-19, Cancer

Professor Michael Lisanti, Chair of Translational Medicine at the University of Salford joins David Gornoski and physicist Weiping Yu to discuss his work using antibiotics to destroy senescent cells-dysfunctional aging cells-as well as cancer stem cells. These generic, very inexpensive antibiotics have studies showing antiviral effects in other viruses. Dr. Lisanti proposes that clinical trials should be conducted using these antibiotics for COVID-19 coronavirus. Senescent cells in the lungs act as host receptors for COVID-19. If anti-aging drugs and senolytics can be used to destroy senescent cells, this may be a promising area of research for virologists.