Protease Inhibitors as Promising Weapons against COVID-19: Focus on Repurposing of Drugs used to Treat HIV and HCV Infections

Title:Protease Inhibitors as Promising Weapons against COVID-19: Focus on Repurposing of Drugs used to Treat HIV and HCV Infections

Volume: 21 Issue: 16

Author(s): Luciana Jesus da Costa, Matheus Mendonça Pereira, Lívia de Souza Ramos, Thaís Pereira de Mello, Laura Nunes Silva, Marta Helena Branquinha and André Luis Souza dos Santos*

Affiliation:

• Department of General Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Goes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Abstract: As a part of the efforts to quickly develop pharmaceutical treatments for COVID-19 through repurposing existing drugs, some researchers around the world have combined the recently released crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro in complex with a covalently bonded inhibitor with virtual screening procedures employing molecular docking approaches. In this context, protease inhibitors (PIs) clinically available and currently used to treat infectious diseases, particularly viral ones, are relevant sources of promising drug candidates to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 M^pro, a key viral enzyme involved in crucial events during its life cycle. In the present perspective, we summarized the published studies showing the promising use of HIV and HCV PIs as potential repurposing drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 M^pro.

Cite this article as:

da Costa Jesus Luciana , Pereira Mendonça Matheus , de Souza Ramos Lívia , de Mello Pereira Thaís , Silva Nunes Laura , Branquinha Helena Marta and dos Santos Luis Souza André*, Protease Inhibitors as Promising Weapons against COVID-19: Focus on Repurposing of Drugs used to Treat HIV and HCV Infections, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2021; 21 (16) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026621666210701093407