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Chavda VP, Gajjar N, Shah N, Dave DJ. Darunavir ethanolate: Repurposing an anti-HIV drug in COVID-19 treatment. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY REPORTS 2021; 3:100013. [PMID: 36575695 PMCID: PMC8532500 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmcr.2021.100013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Antivirals already on the market and expertise gained from the SARS and MERS outbreaks are gaining momentum as the most effective way to combat the coronavirus outbreak. SARS-CoV-2 has caused considerable mortality due to respiratory failure, highlighting the immediate need for successful therapies as well as the long-term need for antivirals to combat potential emergent mutants of coronaviruses. There are constant viral mutations are being observed due to which world is experiencing different waves of SARS-CoV-2. If our understanding of the virology and clinical presentation of COVID-19 grows, so does the pool of possible pharmacological targets. In COVID-19, the difficulties of proper analysis of current pre-clinical/clinical data as well as the creation of new evidence concerning drug repurposing will be crucial. The current manuscript aims to evaluate the repurposing of an anti-HIV drug Darunavir Ethanolate in COVID-19 treatment with in silico study and we discuss the therapeutic progress of Darunavir Etanolate, to prevent SARS-CoV-2 replication, which supports its clinical assessment for COVID-19 therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek P. Chavda
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, 380058, Gujarat, India,Corresponding author. Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L.M. College of Pharmacy, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
| | - Normi Gajjar
- PharmD Section, L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, 380058, Gujarat, India
| | - Nirav Shah
- Department of Pharmaceutics, SAL Institute of Pharmacy, Sola, Ahmedabad, 380060, Gujarat, India
| | - Divyang J. Dave
- Department of Pharmaceutics & Pharm. Technology, K. B. Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Gandhinagar, 382023, Gujarat, India
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Highly Neutralizing COVID-19 Convalescent Plasmas Potently Block SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Pneumonia in Syrian Hamsters. J Virol 2021; 96:e0155121. [PMID: 34818068 PMCID: PMC8865546 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01551-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite various attempts to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients with COVID-19 convalescent plasmas, neither appropriate approach nor clinical utility has been established. We examined the efficacy of administration of highly neutralizing COVID-19 convalescent plasma (hn-plasmas) and such plasma-derived IgG administration using the Syrian hamster COVID-19 model. Two hn-plasmas, which were in the best 1% of 340 neutralizing activity-determined convalescent plasmas, were intraperitoneally administered to SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters, resulting in a significant reduction of viral titers in lungs by up to 32-fold compared to the viral titers in hamsters receiving control nonneutralizing plasma, while with two moderately neutralizing plasmas (mn-plasmas) administered, viral titer reduction was by up to 6-fold. IgG fractions purified from the two hn-plasmas also reduced viral titers in lungs more than those from the two mn-plasmas. The severity of lung lesions seen in hamsters receiving hn-plasmas was minimal to moderate as assessed using microcomputerized tomography, which histological examination confirmed. Western blotting revealed that all four COVID-19 convalescent plasmas variably contained antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 components, including the receptor-binding domain and S1 domain. The present data strongly suggest that administering potent neutralizing activity-confirmed COVID-19 convalescent plasmas would be efficacious in treating patients with COVID-19. IMPORTANCE Convalescent plasmas obtained from patients who recovered from a specific infection have been used as agents to treat other patients infected with the very pathogen. To treat using convalescent plasmas, despite that more than 10 randomized controlled clinical trials have been conducted and more than 100 studies are currently ongoing, the effects of convalescent plasma against COVID-19 remained uncertain. On the other hand, certain COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to reduce the clinical COVID-19 onset by 94 to 95%, for which the elicited SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies are apparently directly responsible. Here, we demonstrate that highly neutralizing effect-confirmed convalescent plasmas significantly reduce the viral titers in the lung of SARS-CoV-2-infected Syrian hamsters and block the development of virally induced lung lesions. The present data provide a proof of concept that the presence of highly neutralizing antibody in COVID-19 convalescent plasmas is directly responsible for the reduction of viral replication and support the use of highly neutralizing antibody-containing plasmas in COVID-19 therapy with convalescent plasmas.
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Calistri A, Luganini A, Mognetti B, Elder E, Sibille G, Conciatori V, Del Vecchio C, Sainas S, Boschi D, Montserrat N, Mirazimi A, Lolli ML, Gribaudo G, Parolin C. The New Generation hDHODH Inhibitor MEDS433 Hinders the In Vitro Replication of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Human Coronaviruses. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9081731. [PMID: 34442810 PMCID: PMC8398173 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Although coronaviruses (CoVs) have long been predicted to cause zoonotic diseases and pandemics with high probability, the lack of effective anti-pan-CoVs drugs rapidly usable against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 actually prevented a promptly therapeutic intervention for COVID-19. Development of host-targeting antivirals could be an alternative strategy for the control of emerging CoVs infections, as they could be quickly repositioned from one pandemic event to another. To contribute to these pandemic preparedness efforts, here we report on the broad-spectrum CoVs antiviral activity of MEDS433, a new inhibitor of the human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH), a key cellular enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. MEDS433 inhibited the in vitro replication of hCoV-OC43 and hCoV-229E, as well as of SARS-CoV-2, at low nanomolar range. Notably, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of MEDS433 against SARS-CoV-2 was also observed in kidney organoids generated from human embryonic stem cells. Then, the antiviral activity of MEDS433 was reversed by the addition of exogenous uridine or the product of hDHODH, the orotate, thus confirming hDHODH as the specific target of MEDS433 in hCoVs-infected cells. Taken together, these findings suggest MEDS433 as a potential candidate to develop novel drugs for COVID-19, as well as broad-spectrum antiviral agents exploitable for future CoVs threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Calistri
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (A.C.); (V.C.); (C.D.V.); (C.P.)
| | - Anna Luganini
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; (A.L.); (B.M.); (G.S.)
| | - Barbara Mognetti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; (A.L.); (B.M.); (G.S.)
| | - Elizabeth Elder
- Public Health Agency of Sweden, 17182 Solna, Sweden; (E.E.); (A.M.)
| | - Giulia Sibille
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; (A.L.); (B.M.); (G.S.)
| | - Valeria Conciatori
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (A.C.); (V.C.); (C.D.V.); (C.P.)
| | - Claudia Del Vecchio
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (A.C.); (V.C.); (C.D.V.); (C.P.)
| | - Stefano Sainas
- Department of Sciences and Drug Technology, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy; (S.S.); (D.B.); (M.L.L.)
| | - Donatella Boschi
- Department of Sciences and Drug Technology, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy; (S.S.); (D.B.); (M.L.L.)
| | - Nuria Montserrat
- Pluripotency for Organ Regeneration, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Technology (BIST), 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ali Mirazimi
- Public Health Agency of Sweden, 17182 Solna, Sweden; (E.E.); (A.M.)
- Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Unit of Clinical Microbiology, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
- National Veterinary Institute, 75189 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marco Lucio Lolli
- Department of Sciences and Drug Technology, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy; (S.S.); (D.B.); (M.L.L.)
| | - Giorgio Gribaudo
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; (A.L.); (B.M.); (G.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-011-6704648
| | - Cristina Parolin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (A.C.); (V.C.); (C.D.V.); (C.P.)
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Janik E, Niemcewicz M, Podogrocki M, Saluk-Bijak J, Bijak M. Existing Drugs Considered as Promising in COVID-19 Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:5434. [PMID: 34063964 PMCID: PMC8196765 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by newly discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease at first was identified in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Being a human infectious disease, it causes high fever, cough, breathing problems. In some cases it can be fatal, especially in people with comorbidities like heart or kidney problems and diabetes. The current COVID-19 treatment is based on symptomatic therapy, so finding an appropriate drug against COVID-19 remains an immediate and crucial target for the global scientific community. Two main processes are thought to be responsible for the COVID-19 pathogenesis. In the early stages of infection, disease is determined mainly by virus replication. In the later stages of infection, by an excessive immune/inflammatory response, leading to tissue damage. Therefore, the main treatment options are antiviral and immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory agents. Many clinical trials have been conducted concerning the use of various drugs in COVID-19 therapy, and many are still ongoing. The majority of trials examine drug reposition (repurposing), which seems to be a good and effective option. Many drugs have been repurposed in COVID-19 therapy including remdesivir, favipiravir, tocilizumab and baricitinib. The aim of this review is to highlight (based on existing and accessible clinical evidence on ongoing trials) the current and available promising drugs for COVID-19 and outline their characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Janik
- Biohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland; (E.J.); (M.N.); (M.P.)
| | - Marcin Niemcewicz
- Biohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland; (E.J.); (M.N.); (M.P.)
| | - Marcin Podogrocki
- Biohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland; (E.J.); (M.N.); (M.P.)
| | - Joanna Saluk-Bijak
- Department of General Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland;
| | - Michal Bijak
- Biohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland; (E.J.); (M.N.); (M.P.)
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