Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Entry: Current and Future Opportunities

  • J Med Chem. 2020 Nov 12;63(21):12256-12274. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00502.
Siyu Xiu  1 ,  Alexej Dick  2 ,  Han Ju  1 ,  Sako Mirzaie  3 ,  Fatemeh Abdi  4 ,  Simon Cocklin  2 ,  Peng Zhan  1 ,  Xinyong Liu  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
  • 2. Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Rooms 10307, 10309, and 10315, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, United States.
  • 3. Department of Biochemistry, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj 6616935391, Iran.
  • 4. Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran North Branch, Tehran 1651153311, Iran.
PMID: 32539378 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00502
Abstract

Recently, a novel coronavirus initially designated 2019-nCoV but now termed SARS-CoV-2 has emerged and raised global concerns due to its virulence. SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of "coronavirus disease 2019", abbreviated to COVID-19, which despite only being identified at the very end of 2019, has now been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). At this time, no specific prophylactic or postexposure therapy for COVID-19 are currently available. Viral entry is the first step in the SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle and is mediated by the trimeric spike protein. Being the first stage in Infection, entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells is an extremely attractive therapeutic intervention point. Within this review, we highlight therapeutic intervention strategies for anti-SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and Other coronaviruses and speculate upon future directions for SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitor designs.