Assessment of the Potential Adverse Events Related to Ribavirin-Interferon Combination for Novel Coronavirus Therapy

BPR3P0128, a non-nucleoside RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and exerts synergistic antiviral activity in combination with remdesivir

Viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), a highly conserved molecule in RNA viruses, has recently emerged as a promising drug target for broad-acting inhibitors. Through a Vero E6-based anti-cytopathic effect assay, we found that BPR3P0128, which incorporates a quinoline core similar to hydroxychloroquine, outperformed the adenosine analog remdesivir in inhibiting RdRp activity (EC50 = 0.66 µM and 3 µM, respectively). BPR3P0128 demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against various severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern. When introduced after viral adsorption, BPR3P0128 significantly decreased SARS-CoV-2 replication; however, it did not affect the early entry stage, as evidenced by a time-of-drug-addition assay. This suggests that BPR3P0128's primary action takes place during viral replication. We also found that BPR3P0128 effectively reduced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in human lung epithelial Calu-3 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. Molecular docking analysis showed that BPR3P0128 targets the RdRp channel, inhibiting substrate entry, which implies it operates differently-but complementary-with remdesivir. Utilizing an optimized cell-based minigenome RdRp reporter assay, we confirmed that BPR3P0128 exhibited potent inhibitory activity. However, an enzyme-based RdRp assay employing purified recombinant nsp12/nsp7/nsp8 failed to corroborate this inhibitory activity. This suggests that BPR3P0128 may inhibit activity by targeting host-related RdRp-associated factors. Moreover, we discovered that a combination of BPR3P0128 and remdesivir had a synergistic effect-a result likely due to both drugs interacting with separate domains of the RdRp. This novel synergy between the two drugs reinforces the potential clinical value of the BPR3P0128-remdesivir combination in combating various SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Adverse events associated with molnupiravir: a real-world disproportionality analysis in food and drug administration adverse event reporting system

Molnupiravir, an urgently approved drug during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, serves as the basis for our study, which relies on the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). The objective is to extract adverse event (AE) signals associated with molnupiravir from the FAERS database, thereby providing a reference for post-marketing monitoring of adverse events. Specifically, we extracted individual case safety reports (ICSRs) from the database, focusing on cases with COVID-19 indications and molnupiravir identified as the primary suspect drug. Descriptive analysis of the extracted data was performed, followed by four disproportionality analyses using the reporting odds ratio (ROR) method. These analyses were conducted across four levels, encompassing overall data, reports by health professionals, as well as age and gender differentiations, ensuring the robustness of the analysis results. In total, 116,576 ICSRs with COVID-19 indications and 2,285 ICSRs with molnupiravir as the primary suspect were extracted. Notably, after excluding cases with unknown age or gender, a higher proportion of molnupiravir-related ICSRs were observed among individuals aged 65 years and older (70.07%) and women (54.06%). The most frequently reported adverse events and AE signals were associated with gastrointestinal disorders, as well as skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders. Moreover, individuals aged 65 years and older exhibited a higher risk of cardiac disorders, hepatobiliary disorders, renal and urinary disorders, and vascular disorders. In conclusion, this study found molnupiravir demonstrated a lower risk of serious adverse events compared to other RNA antiviral drugs like remdesivir in patients under 65 years old. However, close monitoring of its safety is still necessary for elderly patients aged 65 years and above. Further studies are warranted to continuously assess the safety profile of molnupiravir as its usage increases, especially in high risk populations.

Human genetic risk of treatment with antiviral nucleoside analog drugs that induce lethal mutagenesis: The special case of molnupiravir

This review considers antiviral nucleoside analog drugs, including ribavirin, favipiravir, and molnupiravir, which induce genome error catastrophe in SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 via lethal mutagenesis as a mode of action. In vitro data indicate that molnupiravir may be 100 times more potent as an antiviral agent than ribavirin or favipiravir. Molnupiravir has recently demonstrated efficacy in a phase 3 clinical trial. Because of its anticipated global use, its relative potency, and the reported in vitro "host" cell mutagenicity of its active principle, β-d-N4-hydroxycytidine, we have reviewed the development of molnupiravir and its genotoxicity safety evaluation, as well as the genotoxicity profiles of three congeners, that is, ribavirin, favipiravir, and 5-(2-chloroethyl)-2'-deoxyuridine. We consider the potential genetic risks of molnupiravir on the basis of all available information and focus on the need for additional human genotoxicity data and follow-up in patients treated with molnupiravir and similar drugs. Such human data are especially relevant for antiviral NAs that have the potential of permanently modifying the genomes of treated patients and/or causing human teratogenicity or embryotoxicity. We conclude that the results of preclinical genotoxicity studies and phase 1 human clinical safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics are critical components of drug safety assessments and sentinels of unanticipated adverse health effects. We provide our rationale for performing more thorough genotoxicity testing prior to and within phase 1 clinical trials, including human PIG-A and error corrected next generation sequencing (duplex sequencing) studies in DNA and mitochondrial DNA of patients treated with antiviral NAs that induce genome error catastrophe via lethal mutagenesis.

The application of artificial intelligence and data integration in COVID-19 studies: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

To summarize how artificial intelligence (AI) is being applied in COVID-19 research and determine whether these AI applications integrated heterogenous data from different sources for modeling.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched 2 major COVID-19 literature databases, the National Institutes of Health's LitCovid and the World Health Organization's COVID-19 database on March 9, 2021. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline, 2 reviewers independently reviewed all the articles in 2 rounds of screening.

RESULTS

In the 794 studies included in the final qualitative analysis, we identified 7 key COVID-19 research areas in which AI was applied, including disease forecasting, medical imaging-based diagnosis and prognosis, early detection and prognosis (non-imaging), drug repurposing and early drug discovery, social media data analysis, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data analysis, and other COVID-19 research topics. We also found that there was a lack of heterogenous data integration in these AI applications.

DISCUSSION

Risk factors relevant to COVID-19 outcomes exist in heterogeneous data sources, including electronic health records, surveillance systems, sociodemographic datasets, and many more. However, most AI applications in COVID-19 research adopted a single-sourced approach that could omit important risk factors and thus lead to biased algorithms. Integrating heterogeneous data for modeling will help realize the full potential of AI algorithms, improve precision, and reduce bias.

CONCLUSION

There is a lack of data integration in the AI applications in COVID-19 research and a need for a multilevel AI framework that supports the analysis of heterogeneous data from different sources.