- Therapeutics
- Zarpheen Jinnah
Despite several partially effective prophylactic vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 exist, patients worldwide still succumb to COVID-19. New therapeutics to treat this disease are still needed. Upon host invasion, a critical step in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is intracellular replication of SARS-CoV-2 before viral particles invade nearby healthy cells. This triggers an extreme inflammatory response that may lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or transmission to another host. Therefore, therapeutics that can successfully curb the replication of SARS-CoV-2 are imperative.
Within host cells, the replication of SARS-CoV-2’s genome is catalyzed by RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRP). NIH investigators discovered that the nitroxide antioxidant, TEMPOL, interferes with RdRP’s assembly and activity, leading to reduced viral replication in vitro. This discovery suggests that TEMPOL could serve as an antiviral to treat patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Covid-19 therapeutic
- SARS-CoV-2 antiviral
- Targets replication of SARS-CoV-2
- Inexpensive
- Accessible
- Low cytotoxicity
- Discovery (Lead Identification)
Maio Nunziata, et al., Fe-S cofactors in the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are potential antiviral targets [PMID 34083449]
- U.S. Provisional: U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 63/193,656 , Filed 27 May 2021
- Infectious Diseases
- Immune System and Inflammation