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Lithium salts as a treatment for COVID-19: Pre-clinical outcomes
- Source :
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, Vol 149, Iss , Pp 112872- (2022)
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- Elsevier, 2022.
-
Abstract
- Introduction: Identifying effective drugs for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is urgently needed. An efficient approach is to evaluate whether existing approved drugs have anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects. The antiviral properties of lithium salts have been studied for many years. Their anti-inflammatory and immune-potentiating effects result from the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3. Aims: To obtain pre-clinical evidence on the safety and therapeutic effects of lithium salts in the treatment of COVID-19. Results: Six different concentrations of lithium, ranging 2–12 mmol/L, were evaluated. Lithium inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 4 mmol/L. Lithium-treated wells showed a significantly higher percentage of monolayer conservation than viral control, particularly at concentrations higher than 6 mmol/L, verified through microscopic observation, the neutral red assay, and the determination of N protein in the supernatants of treated wells. Hamsters treated with lithium showed less intense disease with fewer signs. No lithium-related mortality or overt signs of toxicity were observed during the experiment. A trend of decreasing viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs and lungs was observed in treated hamsters compared to controls. Conclusions: These results provide pre-clinical evidence of the antiviral and immunotherapeutic effects of lithium against SARS-CoV-2, which supports an advance to clinical trials on COVID-19′s patients.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 07533322
- Volume :
- 149
- Issue :
- 112872-
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.60fcef615a1447dfbf96cf74072fb7fb
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112872