Abstract
Novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has caused more than 100 million confirmed cases of human infectious disease (COVID-19) since December 2019 to paralyze our global community. However, only limited access has been allowed to COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral treatment options. Here, we report the efficacy of the anticancer drug pralatrexate against SARS-CoV-2. In Vero and human lung epithelial Calu-3 cells, pralatrexate reduced viral RNA copies of SARS-CoV-2 without detectable cytotoxicity, and viral replication was successfully inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. In a time-to-addition assay, pralatrexate treatment at almost half a day after infection also exhibited inhibitory effects on the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in Calu-3 cells. Taken together, these results suggest the potential of pralatrexate as a drug repurposing COVID-19 remedy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 268-272 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Biomolecules and Therapeutics |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 The Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology.
Keywords
- Antiviral
- COVID-19
- Drug repurposing
- SARS-CoV-2
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Medicine
- Pharmacology
- Drug Discovery