Development of a Cell-Based Luciferase Complementation Assay for Identification of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro Inhibitors.

ABSTRACT: The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is considered an excellent target for COVID-19 antiviral drug development because it is essential for viral replication and has a cleavage specificity distinct from human proteases. However, drug development for 3CLpro has been hindered by a lack of cell-based reporter assays that can be performed in a BSL-2 setting. Current efforts to identify 3CLpro inhibitors largely rely upon in vitro screening, which fails to account for cell permeability and cytotoxicity of compounds, or assays involving replication-competent virus, which must be performed in a BSL-3 facility. To address these limitations, we have developed a novel cell-based luciferase complementation reporter assay to identify inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in a BSL-2 setting. The assay

SUBMITTER: Rawson JMO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7911889 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature