Geneticin shows selective antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 by interfering with programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 is currently causing an unprecedented pandemic. While vaccines are massively deployed, we still lack effective large-scale antiviral therapies. In the quest for antivirals targeting conserved structures, we focused on molecules able to bind viral RNA secondary structures. Aminoglycosides are a class of antibiotics known to interact with the ribosomal RNA of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and have previously been shown to exert antiviral activities by interacting with viral RNA. Here we show that the aminoglycoside geneticin is endowed with antiviral activity against all tested variants of SARS-CoV-2, in different cell lines and in a respiratory tissue model at non-toxic concentrations. The mechanism of action is an early inhibition of RNA replication and protein expression rela

SUBMITTER: Varricchio C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9617636 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature