1. Identifying FDA-approved drugs with multimodal properties against COVID-19 using a data-driven approach and a lung organoid model of SARS-CoV-2 entry.
- Author
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Duarte RRR, Copertino DC Jr, Iñiguez LP, Marston JL, Bram Y, Han Y, Schwartz RE, Chen S, Nixon DF, and Powell TR
- Subjects
- Antiviral Agents chemistry, Atorvastatin chemistry, COVID-19 prevention & control, Cell Line, Coronavirus 3C Proteases chemistry, Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase chemistry, Doxycycline pharmacology, Drug Approval, Drug Repositioning, Gene Expression Regulation drug effects, Humans, Lung virology, Models, Biological, Molecular Docking Simulation, Organoids virology, Raloxifene Hydrochloride chemistry, Raloxifene Hydrochloride pharmacology, SARS-CoV-2 physiology, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus genetics, Trifluoperazine chemistry, Trifluoperazine pharmacology, United States, United States Food and Drug Administration, Vesiculovirus genetics, Virus Internalization drug effects, Antiviral Agents pharmacology, Atorvastatin pharmacology, Lung drug effects, Organoids drug effects, SARS-CoV-2 drug effects, COVID-19 Drug Treatment
- Abstract
Background: Vaccination programs have been launched worldwide to halt the spread of COVID-19. However, the identification of existing, safe compounds with combined treatment and prophylactic properties would be beneficial to individuals who are waiting to be vaccinated, particularly in less economically developed countries, where vaccine availability may be initially limited., Methods: We used a data-driven approach, combining results from the screening of a large transcriptomic database (L1000) and molecular docking analyses, with in vitro tests using a lung organoid model of SARS-CoV-2 entry, to identify drugs with putative multimodal properties against COVID-19., Results: Out of thousands of FDA-approved drugs considered, we observed that atorvastatin was the most promising candidate, as its effects negatively correlated with the transcriptional changes associated with infection. Atorvastatin was further predicted to bind to SARS-CoV-2's main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and was shown to inhibit viral entry in our lung organoid model., Conclusions: Small clinical studies reported that general statin use, and specifically, atorvastatin use, are associated with protective effects against COVID-19. Our study corroborrates these findings and supports the investigation of atorvastatin in larger clinical studies. Ultimately, our framework demonstrates one promising way to fast-track the identification of compounds for COVID-19, which could similarly be applied when tackling future pandemics., (© 2021. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2021
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