Glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors prevent replication of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus.

ABSTRACT: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a major threat to global health. Vaccines are ideal solutions to prevent infection, but treatments are also needed for those who have contracted the virus to limit negative outcomes, when vaccines are not applicable. Viruses must cross host cell membranes during their life cycle, creating a dependency on processes involving membrane dynamics. Thus, in this study, we examined whether the synthetic machinery for glycosphingolipids, biologically active components of cell membranes, can serve as a therapeutic target to combat SARS-CoV-2. We examined the antiviral effect of two specific inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthase (GCS): (i) Genz-123346, an analogue of the United States Food and

SUBMITTER: Vitner EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7904475 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature