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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 22 million confirmed cases worldwide, and 750 thousand deaths attributed to the virus, antiviral therapies against SAR-CoV-2 are urgently needed.
Coronaviruses rely on the body’s own cell membranes to replicate. Coronaviruses use the cell membrane for host cell entry and release, as well as the establishment of viral replication sites. Generation of replication centers is a key feature of the replication of many viruses. These can serve as sites where the components required for viral replication concentrate within a relatively closed environment and hide from the host innate immune response.
Compounds targeting cellular membrane biology and lipid biosynthetic pathways have previously shown promise as antivirals, and are actively being pursued as treatments for other conditions. In this webinar, Prof. Christopher F. Basler, Director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at Georgia State University, identifies two small molecule inhibitors of VPS34, an enzyme involved in cell membrane dynamics, as well as two inhibitors of lipid metabolism, that can suppress SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in human cells in vitro. One of these compounds is Orlistat, an inhibitor of lipases and fatty acid synthetase, which is approved by the FDA as a treatment for obesity.
