Kite-Shaped Molecules Block SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry at a Post-Attachment Step.

ABSTRACT: Anti-viral small molecules are currently lacking for treating coronavirus infection. The long development timescales for such drugs are a major problem, but could be shortened by repurposing existing drugs. We therefore screened a small library of FDA-approved compounds for potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antivirals using a pseudovirus system that allows a sensitive read-out of infectivity. A group of structurally-related compounds, showing moderate inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values in the 2-5 μM range, were identified. Further studies demonstrated that these "kite-shaped" molecules were surprisingly specific for SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 and that they acted early in the entry steps of the viral infectious cycle, but did not affect virus

SUBMITTER: Chan SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8619434 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature