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Belouzard S, Machelart A, Sencio V, Vausselin T, Hoffmann E, Deboosere N, Rouillé Y, Desmarets L, Séron K, Danneels A, Robil C, Belloy L, Moreau C, Piveteau C, Biela A, Vandeputte A, Heumel S, Deruyter L, Dumont J, Leroux F, Engelmann I, Alidjinou EK, Hober D, Brodin P, Beghyn T, Trottein F, Deprez B, Dubuisson J. Clofoctol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and reduces lung pathology in mice. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010498. [PMID: 35587469 PMCID: PMC9119441 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug repurposing has the advantage of shortening regulatory preclinical development steps. Here, we screened a library of drug compounds, already registered in one or several geographical areas, to identify those exhibiting antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 with relevant potency. Of the 1,942 compounds tested, 21 exhibited a substantial antiviral activity in Vero-81 cells. Among them, clofoctol, an antibacterial drug used for the treatment of bacterial respiratory tract infections, was further investigated due to its favorable safety profile and pharmacokinetic properties. Notably, the peak concentration of clofoctol that can be achieved in human lungs is more than 20 times higher than its IC50 measured against SARS-CoV-2 in human pulmonary cells. This compound inhibits SARS-CoV-2 at a post-entry step. Lastly, therapeutic treatment of human ACE2 receptor transgenic mice decreased viral load, reduced inflammatory gene expression and lowered pulmonary pathology. Altogether, these data strongly support clofoctol as a therapeutic candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Antivirals targeting SARS-CoV-2 are sorely needed. In this study, we screened a library of approximately 2000 drug compounds that have been used or are still used in the clinics. Among them, we identified clofoctol as an antiviral against SARS-CoV-2. This molecule is an antibacterial drug used for the treatment of bacterial respiratory tract infections and it was further investigated due to its safety profile and its properties to accumulate in the lungs. We further demonstrated that, in vivo, this compound reduces inflammatory gene expression and lowers pulmonary pathology. The antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties of clofoctol, associated with its safety profile and unique pharmacokinetic properties make a strong case for proposing clofoctol as an affordable therapeutic candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandrine Belouzard
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Arnaud Machelart
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Valentin Sencio
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Thibaut Vausselin
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
- APTEEUS, Campus Pasteur Lille, Lille, France
| | - Eik Hoffmann
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Nathalie Deboosere
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
| | - Yves Rouillé
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Lowiese Desmarets
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Karin Séron
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Adeline Danneels
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Cyril Robil
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Loic Belloy
- APTEEUS, Campus Pasteur Lille, Lille, France
| | | | - Catherine Piveteau
- Univ Lille, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Lille, France
| | - Alexandre Biela
- Univ Lille, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Lille, France
| | - Alexandre Vandeputte
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
| | - Séverine Heumel
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Lucie Deruyter
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Julie Dumont
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
- Univ Lille, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Lille, France
| | - Florence Leroux
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
- Univ Lille, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Lille, France
| | - Ilka Engelmann
- Univ Lille, CHU Lille, Laboratoire de Virologie, Lille, France
| | | | - Didier Hober
- Univ Lille, CHU Lille, Laboratoire de Virologie, Lille, France
| | - Priscille Brodin
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
| | | | - François Trottein
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Benoit Deprez
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Plateformes lilloises en biologie et santé, Lille, France
- Univ Lille, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, Lille, France
- * E-mail: (BD); (JD)
| | - Jean Dubuisson
- Univ Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
- * E-mail: (BD); (JD)
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