Identification of plitidepsin as potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect after a drug repurposing screen

There is an urgent need to identify therapeutics for the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although different antivirals are given for the clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, their efficacy is still under evaluation. Here, we have screened existing drugs approved for human u...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Rodon, Jordi; Muñoz-Basagoiti, Jordana; Perez, Carles; Valencia, Alfonso|||0000-0002-8937-6789; Guallar, Víctor|||0000-0002-4580-1114
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Data de publicação:2021
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositório:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:Inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/345471
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/345471
https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.646676
Nível de acesso:Acesso aberto
Palavra-chave:COVID-19 (Disease)
Antivirals
Drugs
Viral entry
SARS-CoV-2
Plitidepsin
Synergy
COVID-19 (Malaltia)
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Informàtica::Aplicacions de la informàtica::Bioinformàtica
Descrição
Resumo:There is an urgent need to identify therapeutics for the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although different antivirals are given for the clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, their efficacy is still under evaluation. Here, we have screened existing drugs approved for human use in a variety of diseases, to compare how they counteract SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect and viral replication in vitro. Among the potential 72 antivirals tested herein that were previously proposed to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, only 18 % had an IC50 below 25 µM or 102 IU/ml. These included plitidepsin, novel cathepsin inhibitors, nelfinavir mesylate hydrate, interferon 2-alpha, interferon-gamma, fenofibrate, camostat along the well-known remdesivir and chloroquine derivatives. Plitidepsin was the only clinically approved drug displaying nanomolar efficacy. Four of these families, including novel cathepsin inhibitors, blocked viral entry in a cell—type specific manner. Since the most effective antivirals usually combine therapies that tackle the virus at different steps of infection, we also assessed several drug combinations. Although no particular synergy was found, inhibitory combinations did not reduce their antiviral activity. Thus, these combinations could decrease the potential emergence of resistant viruses. Antivirals prioritized herein identify novel compounds and their mode of action, while independently replicating the activity of a reduced proportion of drugs which are mostly approved for clinical use. Combinations of these drugs should be tested in animal models to inform the design of fast track clinical trials.