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Velásquez PA, Hernandez JC, Galeano E, Hincapié-García J, Rugeles MT, Zapata-Builes W. Effectiveness of Drug Repurposing and Natural Products Against SARS-CoV-2: A Comprehensive Review. Clin Pharmacol 2024; 16:1-25. [PMID: 38197085 PMCID: PMC10773251 DOI: 10.2147/cpaa.s429064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a betacoronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, causing respiratory disorders, and even death in some individuals, if not appropriately treated in time. To face the pandemic, preventive measures have been taken against contagions and the application of vaccines to prevent severe disease and death cases. For the COVID-19 treatment, antiviral, antiparasitic, anticoagulant and other drugs have been reused due to limited specific medicaments for the disease. Drug repurposing is an emerging strategy with therapies that have already tested safe in humans. One promising alternative for systematic experimental screening of a vast pool of compounds is computational drug repurposing (in silico assay). Using these tools, new uses for approved drugs such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, zidovudine, ribavirin, lamivudine, remdesivir, lopinavir and tenofovir/emtricitabine have been conducted, showing effectiveness in vitro and in silico against SARS-CoV-2 and some of these, also in clinical trials. Additionally, therapeutic options have been sought in natural products (terpenoids, alkaloids, saponins and phenolics) with promising in vitro and in silico results for use in COVID-19 disease. Among these, the most studied are resveratrol, quercetin, hesperidin, curcumin, myricetin and betulinic acid, which were proposed as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. Among the drugs reused to control the SARS-CoV2, better results have been observed for remdesivir in hospitalized patients and outpatients. Regarding natural products, resveratrol, curcumin, and quercetin have demonstrated in vitro antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and in vivo, a nebulized formulation has demonstrated to alleviate the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19. This review shows the evidence of drug repurposing efficacy and the potential use of natural products as a treatment for COVID-19. For this, a search was carried out in PubMed, SciELO and ScienceDirect databases for articles about drugs approved or under study and natural compounds recognized for their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Andrea Velásquez
- Grupo Infettare, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Juan C Hernandez
- Grupo Infettare, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Elkin Galeano
- Grupo Productos Naturales Marinos, Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Jaime Hincapié-García
- Grupo de investigación, Promoción y prevención farmacéutica, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
| | - María Teresa Rugeles
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Wildeman Zapata-Builes
- Grupo Infettare, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellín, Colombia
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Awad AM, Hansen K, Del Rio D, Flores D, Barghash RF, Kakkola L, Julkunen I, Awad K. Insights into COVID-19: Perspectives on Drug Remedies and Host Cell Responses. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1452. [PMID: 37892134 PMCID: PMC10604481 DOI: 10.3390/biom13101452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, ongoing research has centered on minimizing viral spread either by stopping viral entry or inhibiting viral replication. Repurposing antiviral drugs, typically nucleoside analogs, has proven successful at inhibiting virus replication. This review summarizes current information regarding coronavirus classification and characterization and presents the broad clinical consequences of SARS-CoV-2 activation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor expressed in different human cell types. It provides publicly available knowledge on the chemical nature of proposed therapeutics and their target biomolecules to assist in the identification of potentially new drugs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M. Awad
- Department of Chemistry, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
| | - Kamryn Hansen
- Department of Chemistry, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
| | - Diana Del Rio
- Department of Chemistry, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
| | - Derek Flores
- Department of Chemistry, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
| | - Reham F. Barghash
- Institute of Chemical Industries Research, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Laura Kakkola
- Institute of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Ilkka Julkunen
- Institute of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, 20521 Turku, Finland
| | - Kareem Awad
- Institute of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Department of Therapeutic Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
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Batubara AS, Abdelazim AH, Almrasy AA, Gamal M, Ramzy S. Quantitative analysis of two COVID-19 antiviral agents, favipiravir and remdesivir, in spiked human plasma using spectrophotometric methods; greenness evaluation. BMC Chem 2023; 17:58. [PMID: 37328879 DOI: 10.1186/s13065-023-00967-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Favipiravir and remdesivir have been included in the COVID-19 treatment guidelines panel of several countries. The main objective of the current work is to develop the first validated green spectrophotometric methods for the determination of favipiravir and remdesivir in spiked human plasma. The UV absorption spectra of favipiravir and remdesivir have shown some overlap, making simultaneous determination difficult. Due to the considerable overlap, two ratio spectra manipulating spectrophotometric methods, namely, ratio difference and the first derivative of ratio spectra, enabled the determination of favipiravir and remdesivir in their pure forms and spiked plasma. The ratio spectra of favipiravir and remdesivir were derived by dividing the spectra of each drug by the suitable spectrum of another drug as a divisor to get the ratio spectra. Favipiravir was determined by calculating the difference between 222 and 256 nm of the derived ratio spectra, while calculating the difference between 247 and 271 nm of the derived ratio spectra enabled the determination of remdesivir. Moreover, the ratio spectra of every drug were transformed to the first order derivative using ∆λ = 4 and a scaling factor of 100. The first-order derivative amplitude values at 228 and 251.20 nm enabled the determination of favipiravir and remdesivir, respectively. Regarding the pharmacokinetic profile of favipiravir (Cmax 4.43 µg/mL) and remdesivir (Cmax 3027 ng/mL), the proposed methods have been successfully applied to the spectrophotometric determination of favipiravir and remdesivir in plasma matrix. Additionally, the greenness of the described methods was evaluated using three metrics systems: the national environmental method index, the analytical eco-scale, and the analytical greenness metric. The results demonstrated that the described models were in accordance with the environmental characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afnan S Batubara
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed H Abdelazim
- Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11751, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Almrasy
- Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11751, Egypt
| | - Mohammed Gamal
- Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt
| | - Sherif Ramzy
- Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11751, Egypt.
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Wada T, Hibino M, Aono H, Kyoda S, Iwadate Y, Shishido E, Ikeda K, Kinoshita N, Matsuda Y, Otani S, Kameda R, Matoba K, Nonaka M, Maeda M, Kumagai Y, Ako J, Shichiri M, Naoki K, Katagiri M, Takaso M, Iwamura M, Katayama K, Miyatsuka T, Orihashi Y, Yamaoka K. Efficacy and safety of single-dose ivermectin in mild-to-moderate COVID-19: the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled CORVETTE-01 trial. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1139046. [PMID: 37283627 PMCID: PMC10240959 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1139046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background To investigate whether ivermectin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 proliferation in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 using time to a negative COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Methods CORVETTE-01 was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study (August 2020-October 2021) conducted in Japan. Overall, 248 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 using RT-PCR were assessed for eligibility. A single oral dose of ivermectin (200 μg/kg) or placebo was administered under fasting. The primary outcome was time to a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, assessed using stratified log-rank test and Cox regression models. Results Overall, 112 and 109 patients were randomized to ivermectin and placebo, respectively; 106 patients from each group were included in the full analysis set (male [%], mean age: 68.9%, 47.9 years [ivermectin]; 62.3%, 47.5 years [placebo]). No significant difference was observed in the occurrence of negative RT-PCR tests between the groups (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-1.32; p = 0.785). Median (95% CI) time to a negative RT-PCR test was 14.0 (13.0-16.0) and 14.0 (12.0-16.0) days for ivermectin and placebo, respectively; 82.1% and 84% of patients achieved negative RT-PCR tests, respectively. Conclusion In patients with COVID-19, single-dose ivermectin was ineffective in decreasing the time to a negative RT-PCR test. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04703205.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuhiko Wada
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Makoto Hibino
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shonan Fujisawa Tokushukai Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hiromi Aono
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Kyoda
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yosuke Iwadate
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Eri Shishido
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Keisuke Ikeda
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Nana Kinoshita
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yasuki Matsuda
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Sakiko Otani
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tama-Nambu Chiiki Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryo Kameda
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kenta Matoba
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Miwa Nonaka
- Global Clinical Research Coordinating Center, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Mika Maeda
- Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacoepidemiology and Research and Education Center for Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yuji Kumagai
- Clinical Trial Center, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Junya Ako
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masayoshi Shichiri
- Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tokyo Kyosai Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Katsuhiko Naoki
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masato Katagiri
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masashi Takaso
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masatsugu Iwamura
- Department of Urology, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Katayama
- Department of Infection Control and Immunology, Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Miyatsuka
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yasushi Orihashi
- Division of Clinical Research, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kunihiro Yamaoka
- Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
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Bogoyavlenskiy A, Alexyuk M, Alexyuk P, Berezin V, Almalki FA, Ben Hadda T, Alqahtani AM, Ahmed SA, Dall'Acqua S, Jamalis J. Computer Analysis of the Inhibition of ACE2 by Flavonoids and Identification of Their Potential Antiviral Pharmacophore Site. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28093766. [PMID: 37175179 PMCID: PMC10179817 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28093766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the antiviral activities of 17 flavonoids as natural products. These derivatives were evaluated for their in vitro antiviral activities against HIV and SARS-CoV-2. Their antiviral activity was evaluated for the first time based on POM (Petra/Osiris/Molispiration) theory and docking analysis. POM calculation was used to analyze the atomic charge and geometric characteristics. The side effects, drug similarities, and drug scores were also assumed for the stable structure of each compound. These results correlated with the experimental values. The bioinformatics POM analyses of the relative antiviral activities of these derivatives are reported for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Bogoyavlenskiy
- Research and Production Center for Microbiology and Virology, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
| | - Madina Alexyuk
- Research and Production Center for Microbiology and Virology, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
| | - Pavel Alexyuk
- Research and Production Center for Microbiology and Virology, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
| | - Vladimir Berezin
- Research and Production Center for Microbiology and Virology, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
| | - Faisal A Almalki
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Taibi Ben Hadda
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
- Laboratory of Applied Chemistry & Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed Premier University, MB 524, Oujda 60000, Morocco
| | - Alaa M Alqahtani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saleh A Ahmed
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Stefano Dall'Acqua
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35121 Padova, Italy
| | - Joazaizulfazli Jamalis
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, Johor Bahru 81310, Johor, Malaysia
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Zhang H, Liang B, Sang X, An J, Huang Z. Discovery of Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease by a Transfer Learning Method. Viruses 2023; 15:v15040891. [PMID: 37112871 PMCID: PMC10143255 DOI: 10.3390/v15040891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains a global public health threat and has prompted the development of antiviral therapies. Artificial intelligence may be one of the strategies to facilitate drug development for emerging and re-emerging diseases. The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive drug target due to its essential role in the virus life cycle and high conservation among SARS-CoVs. In this study, we used a data augmentation method to boost transfer learning model performance in screening for potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. This method appeared to outperform graph convolution neural network, random forest and Chemprop on an external test set. The fine-tuned model was used to screen for a natural compound library and a de novo generated compound library. By combination with other in silico analysis methods, a total of 27 compounds were selected for experimental validation of anti-Mpro activities. Among all the selected hits, two compounds (gyssypol acetic acid and hyperoside) displayed inhibitory effects against Mpro with IC50 values of 67.6 μM and 235.8 μM, respectively. The results obtained in this study may suggest an effective strategy of discovering potential therapeutic leads for SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.
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Siripongboonsitti T, Ungtrakul T, Watanapokasin N, Timsri P, Wongpakdee K, Wattanasin P, Pavitrapok C, Khunvichai A, Jamnongtanachot P, Mueannoom W, Kitpoka T, Arjharn W, Mahanonda N. Pharmacokinetic Comparison of Favipiravir Oral Solution and Tablet Formulations in Healthy Thai Volunteers. Clin Pharmacol Drug Dev 2023; 12:14-20. [PMID: 35877195 DOI: 10.1002/cpdd.1149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This study compared the pharmacokinetics and safety of favipiravir oral solution with those of tablet formulations, which were agents repurposed to treat nonsevere coronavirus disease 2019 in Thailand. In an open-label, single-dose, randomized, crossover study, 24 healthy subjects under fasting conditions were randomly assigned to a single dose of 200 mg of favipiravir, either as an oral solution of 200 mg/15 mL (test product) or a tablet (reference product), separated by a 7-day washout period. Fifteen plasma samples were collected over 12 hours after drug administration. Plasma favipiravir levels were quantified using in-house developed ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The test/reference geometric mean ratio along with 90%CI for the maximum plasma concentration, area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) to the time of the last quantifiable concentration, and AUC after single-dose administration, extrapolated to infinity were 115.3% (90%CI, 107.7%-123.3%), 100.4% (90%CI, 96.9%-104.0%), and 100.4% (90%CI, 96.8%-104.2%), respectively. These results were within the predefined acceptance criteria for bioequivalence (80.0%-125.0%). No adverse events were observed in either group. The oral solution formulation could offer the advantage of easier swallowing in broader patient groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taweegrit Siripongboonsitti
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Chulabhorn Hospital, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Teerapat Ungtrakul
- Princess Srisavangavadhana College of Medicine, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Natcha Watanapokasin
- Princess Srisavangavadhana College of Medicine, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Pornuma Timsri
- Chulabhorn Hospital, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Parin Wattanasin
- Chulabhorn Hospital, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nithi Mahanonda
- Chulabhorn Hospital, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
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Shamkh IM, Elkazzaz M, Radwan ES, Najeeb J, Rehman MT, AlAjmi MF, Shahwan M, Sufyan M, Alaqeel NK, Ibrahim IA, Jabbar B, Khan MS, Karpiński TM, Haikal A, Aljowaie RM, Almutairi SM, Ahmed A. AI-driven Discovery of Celecoxib and Dexamethasone for Exploring their Mode of Action as Human Interleukin (IL-6) Inhibitors to Treat COVID-19-induced Cytokine Storm in Humans. Curr Pharm Des 2023; 29:2752-2762. [PMID: 37921134 DOI: 10.2174/0113816128260449231017091824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the case of COVID-19 patients, it has been observed that the immune system of the infected person exhibits an extreme inflammatory response known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) where the inflammatory cytokines are swiftly produced in quite large amounts in response to infective stimuli. Numerous case studies of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms have documented the presence of higher plasma concentrations of human interleukin-6 (IL-6), which suggests that IL-6 is a crucial factor in the pathophysiology of the disease. In order to prevent CRS in COVID-19 patients, the drugs that can exhibit binding interactions with IL-6 and block the signaling pathways to decrease the IL-6 activity may be repurposed. METHODS This research work focused on molecular docking-based screening of the drugs celecoxib (CXB) and dexamethasone (DME) to explore their potential to interact with the binding sites of IL-6 protein and reduce the hyper-activation of IL-6 in the infected personnel. RESULTS Both of the drugs were observed to bind with the IL-6 (IL-6 receptor alpha chain) and IL-6Rα receptor with the respective affinities of -7.3 kcal/mol and -6.3 kcal/mol, respectively, for CXB and DME. Moreover, various types of binding interactions of the drugs with the target proteins were also observed in the docking studies. The dynamic behaviors of IL-6/IL-6Rα in complex with the drugs were also explored through molecular dynamics simulation analysis. The results indicated significant stabilities of the acquired drug-protein complexes up to 100 ns. CONCLUSION The findings of this study have suggested the potential of the drugs studied to be utilized as antagonists for countering CRS in COVID-19 ailment. This study presents the studied drugs as promising candidates both for the clinical and pre-clinical treatment of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Israa M Shamkh
- Chemo and Bioinformatics Lab, Bio Search Research Institution BSRI, Giza 12613, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud Elkazzaz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Damietta University, Damietta 7952567, Egypt
| | - Enas S Radwan
- Faculty of Science, Zarqa University, Zarqa 13132, Jordan
| | - Jawayria Najeeb
- Department of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
| | - Md Tabish Rehman
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Center for Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohamed F AlAjmi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Moayad Shahwan
- Center for Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
| | - Muhammad Sufyan
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Nouf Khalifa Alaqeel
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim A Ibrahim
- Botany and Microbiology Department (Biotechnology Program), Faculty of Science, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt
| | - Basit Jabbar
- Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Mohammad Shahbaz Khan
- Children's National Hospital, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Tomasz M Karpiński
- Chair and Department of Medical Microbiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Wieniawskiego 3, Poznań 61-712, Poland
| | - Abdullah Haikal
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Reem M Aljowaie
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saeedah Musaed Almutairi
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amr Ahmed
- Director of Tuberculosis Ghubera Mobile Team, Public Health Department, First Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 966-11, Saudi Arabia
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Agyeman AA, You T, Chan PLS, Lonsdale DO, Hadjichrysanthou C, Mahungu T, Wey EQ, Lowe DM, Lipman MCI, Breuer J, Kloprogge F, Standing JF. Comparative assessment of viral dynamic models for SARS-CoV-2 for pharmacodynamic assessment in early treatment trials. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2022; 88:5428-5433. [PMID: 36040430 PMCID: PMC9538685 DOI: 10.1111/bcp.15518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Pharmacometric analyses of time series viral load data may detect drug effects with greater power than approaches using single time points. Because SARS-CoV-2 viral load rapidly rises and then falls, viral dynamic models have been used. We compared different modelling approaches when analysing Phase II-type viral dynamic data. Using two SARS-CoV-2 datasets of viral load starting within 7 days of symptoms, we fitted the slope-intercept exponential decay (SI), reduced target cell limited (rTCL), target cell limited (TCL) and TCL with eclipse phase (TCLE) models using nlmixr. Model performance was assessed via Bayesian information criterion (BIC), visual predictive checks (VPCs), goodness-of-fit plots, and parameter precision. The most complex (TCLE) model had the highest BIC for both datasets. The estimated viral decline rate was similar for all models except the TCL model for dataset A with a higher rate (median [range] day-1 : dataset A; 0.63 [0.56-1.84]; dataset B: 0.81 [0.74-0.85]). Our findings suggest simple models should be considered during pharmacodynamic model development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akosua A Agyeman
- Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tao You
- Beyond Consulting Ltd., Cheshire, UK.,Medical Research Council, UK
| | | | - Dagan O Lonsdale
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St George's University of London, London, UK.,Department of Intensive Care, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Christoforos Hadjichrysanthou
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Tabitha Mahungu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Free Hospital London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Emmanuel Q Wey
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Free Hospital London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.,Centre for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity University College London, London, UK
| | - David M Lowe
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.,Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London, UK
| | - Marc C I Lipman
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.,UCL Respiratory, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London, UK
| | - Judy Breuer
- Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Microbiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
| | - Frank Kloprogge
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Joseph F Standing
- Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Pharmacy, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
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10
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Kincaid JRA, Caravez JC, Iyer KS, Kavthe RD, Fleck N, Aue DH, Lipshutz BH. A sustainable synthesis of the SARS-CoV-2 M pro inhibitor nirmatrelvir, the active ingredient in Paxlovid. Commun Chem 2022; 5:156. [PMID: 36465589 PMCID: PMC9685088 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-022-00758-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Pfizer's drug for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19, Paxlovid, contains most notably nirmatrelvir, along with ritonavir. Worldwide demand is projected to be in the hundreds of metric tons per year, to be produced by several generic drug manufacturers. Here we show a 7-step, 3-pot synthesis of the antiviral nirmatrelvir, arriving at the targeted drug in 70% overall yield. Critical amide bond-forming steps utilize new green technology that completely avoids traditional peptide coupling reagents, as well as epimerization of stereocenters. Likewise, dehydration of a primary amide to the corresponding nitrile is performed and avoids use of the Burgess reagent and chlorinated solvents. DFT calculations for various conformers of nirmatrelvir predict that two rotamers about the tertiary amide would be present with an unusually high rotational barrier. Direct comparisons with the original literature procedures highlight both the anticipated decrease in cost and environmental footprint associated with this route, potentially expanding the availability of this important drug worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R. A. Kincaid
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Juan C. Caravez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Karthik S. Iyer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Rahul D. Kavthe
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Nico Fleck
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Donald H. Aue
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
| | - Bruce H. Lipshutz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 USA
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11
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Yadav V. Computational evidence based perspective on the plausible repositioning of fluoroquinolones for COVID-19 treatment. Curr Comput Aided Drug Des 2022; 18:CAD-EPUB-126248. [PMID: 36093826 DOI: 10.2174/1573409918666220909094645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a serious global healthcare crisis, so there is an emergence of identifying efficacious therapeutic options. In a setting where there is an unavailability of definitive medication along with the constant eruption of vaccine-related controversies, the drug-repositioning approach seems to be an ideal step for the management of COVID-19 patients. Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are commonly prescribed antibiotics for the treatment of genitourinary tract and upper respiratory tract infections, including severe community-acquired pneumonia. Research over the years has postulated multifaceted implications of FQs in various pathological conditions. Previously, it has been reported that few, but not all FQs, possess strong antiviral activity with an unknown mechanism of action. Herein, an interesting perspective is discussed on repositioning possibilities of FQs for the SARS-CoV-2 infections based on the recent in silico evidential support. Noteworthy, FQs possess immunomodulatory and bactericidal activity which could be valuable for patients dealing with COVID-19 related complications. Conclusively, the current perspective could pave the way to initiate pre-clinical testing of FQs against several strains of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Yadav
- Interdisciplinary Cluster for Applied Genoproteomics (GIGA), University of Liège, Sart-Tilman, 4000, Liège, Belgium
- Department of Translational Medicine, Skane University Hospital, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
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12
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Mohammed AO, Abo-Idrees MI, Makki AA, Ibraheem W, Alzain AA. Drug repurposing against main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 using molecular docking, MM-GBSA calculations and molecular dynamics. Struct Chem 2022; 33:1553-1567. [PMID: 35789829 PMCID: PMC9243907 DOI: 10.1007/s11224-022-01999-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 10/30/2022]
Abstract
A virus called severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is the causing organism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has severely affected human life and threatened public health. The pandemic took millions of lives worldwide and caused serious negative effects on human society and the economy. SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) are interesting targets due to their crucial role in viral replication and growth. Since there is only one approved therapy for COVID-19, drug repurposing is a promising approach to finding molecules with potential activity against COVID-19 in a short time and at minimal cost. In this study, virtual screening was performed on the ChEMBL library containing 9923 FDA-approved drugs, using various docking filters with different accuracy. The best drugs with the highest docking scores were further examined for molecular dynamics (MD) studies and MM-GBSA calculations. The results of this study suggest that nadide, cangrelor and denufosol are promising potential candidates against COVID-19. Further in vitro, preclinical and clinical studies of these candidates would help to discover safe and effective anti-COVID-19 drugs.
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13
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Uhelski ML, Gorur A, Shi T, Corrales G, Du KN, Li Y, Amit M, Tatsui CE, Rhines LD, Dougherty PM, Cata JP. Fadu head and neck squamous cell carcinoma induces hyperexcitability of primary sensory neurons in an in vitro coculture model. Pain Rep 2022; 7:e1012. [PMID: 35620249 PMCID: PMC9113206 DOI: 10.1097/pr9.0000000000001012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Squamouscell carcinoma cells promoted an inflammatory microenvironment and induced sensitization of both human and rat dorsal root ganglion neurons in patch clamp electrophysiology recordings. Introduction: Methods: Results: Conclusions:
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14
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Rasmussen HB, Thomsen R, Hansen PR. Nucleoside analog GS-441524: pharmacokinetics in different species, safety, and potential effectiveness against Covid-19. Pharmacol Res Perspect 2022; 10:e00945. [PMID: 35396928 PMCID: PMC8994193 DOI: 10.1002/prp2.945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
GS-441524, the parent nucleoside of remdesivir, has been proposed to be effective against Covid-19 based on in vitro studies and studies in animals. However, randomized clinical trials of the agent to treat Covid-19 have not been conducted. Here, we evaluated GS-441524 for Covid-19 treatment based on studies reporting pharmacokinetic parameters of the agent in mice, rats, cats, dogs, monkeys, and the single individual in the first-in-human trial supplemented with information about its activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and safety. A dosing interval of 8 h was considered clinically relevant and used to calculate steady-state plasma concentrations of GS-441524. These ranged from 0.27 to 234.41 μM, reflecting differences in species, doses, and administration routes. Fifty percent maximal inhibitory concentrations of GS-441524 against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ranged from 0.08 μM to above 10 μM with a median of 0.87 μM whereas concentrations required to produce 90% of the maximal inhibition of the virus varied from 0.18 µM to more than 20 µM with a median of 1.42 µM in the collected data. Most of these concentrations were substantially lower than the calculated steady-state plasma concentrations of the agent. Plasma exposures to orally administered GS-441524, calculated after normalization of doses, were larger for dogs, mice, and rats than cynomolgus monkeys and humans, probably reflecting interspecies differences in oral uptake with reported oral bioavailabilities below 8.0% in cynomolgus monkeys and values as high as 92% in dogs. Reported oral bioavailabilities in rodents ranged from 12% to 57%. Using different presumptions, we estimated human oral bioavailability of GS-441524 at 13% and 20%. Importantly, doses of GS-441524 lower than the 13 mg/kg dose used in the first-in-human trial may be effective against Covid-19. Also, GS-441524 appears to be well-tolerated. In conclusion, GS-441524 has potential for oral treatment of Covid-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Berg Rasmussen
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre Sct. Hans, Roskilde, Denmark.,Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University Center, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Ragnar Thomsen
- Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Peter Riis Hansen
- Department of Cardiology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark
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15
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Reiter RJ, Sharma R, Simko F, Dominguez-rodriguez A, Tesarik J, Neel RL, Slominski AT, Kleszczynski K, Martin-gimenez VM, Manucha W, Cardinali DP. Melatonin: highlighting its use as a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79. [PMID: 35187603 PMCID: PMC8858600 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-04102-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Numerous pharmaceutical drugs have been repurposed for use as treatments for COVID-19 disease. These drugs have not consistently demonstrated high efficacy in preventing or treating this serious condition and all have side effects to differing degrees. We encourage the continued consideration of the use of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, melatonin, as a countermeasure to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. More than 140 scientific publications have identified melatonin as a likely useful agent to treat this disease. Moreover, the publications cited provide the rationale for the use of melatonin as a prophylactic agent against this condition. Melatonin has pan-antiviral effects and it diminishes the severity of viral infections and reduces the death of animals infected with numerous different viruses, including three different coronaviruses. Network analyses, which compared drugs used to treat SARS-CoV-2 in humans, also predicted that melatonin would be the most effective agent for preventing/treating COVID-19. Finally, when seriously infected COVID-19 patients were treated with melatonin, either alone or in combination with other medications, these treatments reduced the severity of infection, lowered the death rate, and shortened the duration of hospitalization. Melatonin’s ability to arrest SARS-CoV-2 infections may reduce health care exhaustion by limiting the need for hospitalization. Importantly, melatonin has a high safety profile over a wide range of doses and lacks significant toxicity. Some molecular processes by which melatonin resists a SARS-CoV-2 infection are summarized. The authors believe that all available, potentially beneficial drugs, including melatonin, that lack toxicity should be used in pandemics such as that caused by SARS-CoV-2.
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16
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Hashimoto Y, Suzuki T, Hashimoto K. Mechanisms of action of fluvoxamine for COVID-19: a historical review. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:1898-907. [PMID: 34997196 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01432-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) accelerates the discovery of prophylactic and therapeutic drugs for persons infected with the virus. Drug repurposing for the COVID-19 pandemic has received particular attention. Increasing clinical data suggest that antidepressant use in early-stage subjects with COVID-19 might be associated with a reduced risk of intubation or death. Among the antidepressants, fluvoxamine is the most attractive drug for mild to moderate subjects with COVID-19. In this article, we review the mechanisms of action (i.e., serotonin transporter, sigma-1 receptor, and acid sphingomyelinase) of fluvoxamine for COVID-19. Furthermore, we discuss a possible link between maternal COVID-19 infection and a risk for neuropsychiatric disorders (i.e., autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia) in offspring.
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17
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Chakraborty C, Sharma AR, Bhattacharya M, Agoramoorthy G, Lee SS. The Drug Repurposing for COVID-19 Clinical Trials Provide Very Effective Therapeutic Combinations: Lessons Learned From Major Clinical Studies. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:704205. [PMID: 34867318 PMCID: PMC8636940 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.704205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has spread across the globe in no time. In the beginning, people suffered due to the absence of efficacious drugs required to treat severely ill patients. Nevertheless, still, there are no established therapeutic molecules against the SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, repurposing of the drugs started against SARS-CoV-2, due to which several drugs were approved for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. This paper reviewed the treatment regime for COVID-19 through drug repurposing from December 8, 2019 (the day when WHO recognized COVID-19 as a pandemic) until today. We have reviewed all the clinical trials from RECOVERY trials, ACTT-1 and ACTT-2 study group, and other major clinical trial platforms published in highly reputed journals such as NEJM, Lancet, etc. In addition to single-molecule therapy, several combination therapies were also evaluated to understand the treatment of COVID-19 from these significant clinical trials. To date, several lessons have been learned on the therapeutic outcomes for COVID-19. The paper also outlines the experiences gained during the repurposing of therapeutic molecules (hydroxychloroquine, ritonavir/ lopinavir, favipiravir, remdesivir, ivermectin, dexamethasone, camostatmesylate, and heparin), immunotherapeutic molecules (tocilizumab, mavrilimumab, baricitinib, and interferons), combination therapy, and convalescent plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 patients. We summarized that anti-viral therapeutic (remdesivir) and immunotherapeutic (tocilizumab, dexamethasone, and baricitinib) therapy showed some beneficial outcomes. Until March 2021, 4952 clinical trials have been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov toward the drug and vaccine development for COVID-19. More than 100 countries have participated in contributing to these clinical trials. Other than the registered clinical trials (medium to large-size), several small-size clinical trials have also been conducted from time to time to evaluate the treatment of COVID-19. Four molecules showed beneficial therapeutic to treat COVID-19 patients. The short-term repurposing of the existing drug may provide a successful outcome for COVID-19 patients. Therefore, more clinical trials can be initiated using potential anti-viral molecules by evaluating in different phases of clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiranjib Chakraborty
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Adamas University, Kolkata, India
| | - Ashish Ranjan Sharma
- Institute for Skeletal Aging and Orthopedic Surgery, Hallym University-Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Chuncheon-si, South Korea
| | | | | | - Sang-Soo Lee
- Institute for Skeletal Aging and Orthopedic Surgery, Hallym University-Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Chuncheon-si, South Korea
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18
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Florin-Christensen M, Wieser SN, Suarez CE, Schnittger L. In Silico Survey and Characterization of Babesia microti Functional and Non-Functional Proteases. Pathogens 2021; 10:1457. [PMID: 34832610 PMCID: PMC8621943 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Human babesiosis caused by the intraerythrocytic apicomplexan Babesia microti is an expanding tick-borne zoonotic disease that may cause severe symptoms and death in elderly or immunocompromised individuals. In light of an increasing resistance of B. microti to drugs, there is a lack of therapeutic alternatives. Species-specific proteases are essential for parasite survival and possible chemotherapeutic targets. However, the repertoire of proteases in B. microti remains poorly investigated. Herein, we employed several combined bioinformatics tools and strategies to organize and identify genes encoding for the full repertoire of proteases in the B. microti genome. We identified 64 active proteases and 25 nonactive protease homologs. These proteases can be classified into cysteine (n = 28), serine (n = 21), threonine (n = 14), asparagine (n = 7), and metallopeptidases (n = 19), which, in turn, are assigned to a total of 38 peptidase families. Comparative studies between the repertoire of B. bovis and B. microti proteases revealed differences among sensu stricto and sensu lato Babesia parasites that reflect their distinct evolutionary history. Overall, this data may help direct future research towards our understanding of the biology and pathogenicity of Babesia parasites and to explore proteases as targets for developing novel therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Florin-Christensen
- Instituto de Patobiologia Veterinaria (IPVET), Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Hurlingham C1033AAE, Argentina; (S.N.W.); (L.S.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
| | - Sarah N. Wieser
- Instituto de Patobiologia Veterinaria (IPVET), Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Hurlingham C1033AAE, Argentina; (S.N.W.); (L.S.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
| | - Carlos E. Suarez
- Animal Disease Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Pullman, WA 99163, USA;
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163, USA
| | - Leonhard Schnittger
- Instituto de Patobiologia Veterinaria (IPVET), Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Hurlingham C1033AAE, Argentina; (S.N.W.); (L.S.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
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