Valinomycin as a potential antiviral agent against coronaviruses: A review

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have been resulting in global epidemics with heavy morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, there are currently no specific medicines that can better treat these coronaviruses. Drug repurposing is an effective and economical strategy for drug discovery from existing drugs, natural products, and synthetic compounds. In this review, the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of valinomycin (VAL), especially its activity against coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), were summarized, it highlights that VAL has tremendous potential for use as a novel antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2.