Author: Abikenova Ayazhan
Translator: Turarova Aiym
Copy editors: Kigbayeva Kamila, Issabayeva Madina
Researchers from the Zoonotic Virus Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea (Seongnam, Korea), tested 48 drugs approved by the FDA against SARS-CoV-2 and found that two of them have a promising perspective in the application.
To test the drugs, scientists used Vero cells, a line of African green monkey kidney cells that are used to cultivate viruses to make vaccines.
The first promising drug was niclosamide, an anthelminthic agent that showed a strong antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. However, niclosamide has a disadvantage: low absorption, which undermines the strength of the drug, reducing the dose reaching the target tissue. Nonetheless, the report says «further development or drug formulation could enable an effective delivery of this drug to the target tissue».
Co-authors of the study SangeunJeon, MeehyunKo et al.:
«Not surprisingly, its broad-spectrum antiviral effect has been well documented in the literature including antiviral properties against SARS - and MERS -CoV».
The second drug is ciclesonide, a corticosteroid for inhalation used for the treatment of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Ciclesonide has less antiviral activity than the first drug, but according to a study conducted earlier this year, ciclesonide demonstrated a positive effect against SARS-CoV-2 in 3 patients. The molecular target of the drug is a viral protein called Nsp15. As a result, the researchers concluded that the drug has both anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. An anti-inflammatory activity can play a crucial role in easing or preventing cytokine storms, as well as an immune-inflammatory overreaction that can kill patients with COVID-19.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/
