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Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2
Published on: November 5, 2021
Knowledge-based repositioning of the anti-HCV direct antiviral agent Sofosbuvir as SARS-CoV-2 treatment
Luigi Buonaguro1, Franco M Buonaguro2
11Laboratory of Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Abstract:
The new human coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense RNA virus for which no specific drugs are currently available. A knowledge-based analysis strongly suggests a possible repositioning of the anti-HCV direct antiviral agent (DAA) Sofosbuvir as treatment for SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerases (RdRp) of the two viruses show high sequence and structural homology, supporting the likelihood of binding the Sofosbuvir molecule with similar efficiency. Such a repositioning would allow the containment of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and limit the progression of disease to potentially deadly COVID19.
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