Seven existing kinase inhibitor drugs have potential against SARS-Cov-2, European researchers say.
The drugs are currently approved for cancer and inflammatory disease treatment and have shown "potent" antiviral activity in laboratory tests, according to researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.
The scientists began testing the drugs are studying the interaction between the virus and human cells – and finding it was based on kinases that regulate modifications in host proteins caused by the virus infection.
They found that the virus prevents human cells from dividing, freezing them at a specific point in the cell cycle.
The findings have been reported in Cell. The researchers said dozens of existing drugs target the kinases – but just seven showed antiviral potential in the laboratory. These were inhibitors of p38, CK2, CDKs, AXL and PIKFYVE kinases, such as silmitasertib, Gilteritinib, ralimetinib, apilimod and dinaciclib.
Researcher Pedro Beltrao said: "The virus prevents human cells from dividing, maintaining them at a particular point in the cell cycle. This provides the virus with a relatively stable and adequate environment to keep replicating."
Meanwhile in Ireland, a randomised trial of alpha-1-antitrypsin has begun as a treatment for critically ill patients with Covid-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The researchers have already published a detailed study of the body’s inflammatory response to infection in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Professor Gerry McElvaney, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland’s University of Medicine, said: "Despite the implications for global health, the inflammatory characteristics of patients with COVID-19 are not yet fully understood.
"A greater understanding of how the body’s inflammatory mechanisms are impacted upon by Covid-19 could open the door to several potential therapies including antiviral medications and targeted immune-modulators such as alpha-1-antitrypsin.
“This finding suggests to us that a therapy which augments the body’s own inflammation resolving mechanisms might have a positive impact. Alpha-1 protects the airway from damage during acute pulmonary infection. It is also a potent anti-inflammatory and acts to protect the immune system. Of particular relevance to Covid-19, it has been shown to modulate the production and activity of several key pro-inflammatory proteins."
The Global Phosphorylation Landscape of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Cell June 2020
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