Current Potential Therapeutic Approaches against SARS-CoV-2: A Review.

Dharmendra Kumar Yadav,Desh Deepak Singh,Yogesh Kumar,Eun-Ha Choi,Ihn Han

doi:10.3390/biomedicines9111620

Abstract

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a serious threat to public health worldwide and, to date, no effective treatment is available. Thus, we herein review the pharmaceutical approaches to SARS-CoV-2 infection treatment. Numerous candidate medicines that can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication have been proposed. These medicines include inhibitors of serine protease TMPRSS2 and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The S protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the receptor in host cells. ACE2 inhibitors block TMPRSS2 and S protein priming, thus preventing SARS-CoV-2 entry to host cells. Moreover, antiviral medicines (including the nucleotide analogue remdesivir, the HIV protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir, and wide-spectrum antiviral antibiotics arbidol and favipiravir) have been shown to reduce the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 as well as morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19.

Highlights

To identify therapeutic agents that are effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 infection, extensive research on the structure and pathogenesis of COVID-19 is in progress [15]
Lopinavir has been suggested as a treatment choice for persistent COVID-19 infection [41], as it inhibits the activity of coronavirus proteases
As vaccines will not be available for the general population until the end of 2020, approved off-label and experimental drugs that are effective against COVID-19 have been identified, including Transmembrane protease serine subfamily 2 (TMPRSS2) and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) inhibitors, antifungal and antimalarial products, antiviral medicines inhibiting viral RdRp, proteases, virus/host cell membrane fusion inhibitors, and antiviral phytochemicals