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Histamine receptors and COVID-19
Madeleine Ennis1, Katerina Tiligada2
1The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queens University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK.
Summary
Famotidine, a histamine H2 receptor antagonist, may aid COVID-19 treatment through immunomodulatory effects, not direct viral inhibition. Clinical trials are ongoing to confirm its benefits in managing coronavirus inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Virology
- Immunology
Background:
- Initial reports suggested famotidine, an H2 receptor antagonist, could treat COVID-19.
- Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and histamine receptor antagonists were investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine reports on interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and histamine receptor antagonists.
- To evaluate the potential of famotidine in COVID-19 treatment.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar.
- Searched ClinicalTrials.gov for COVID-19 and famotidine/histamine studies.
- Included bioinformatics and drug repurposing studies.
Main Results:
- Bioinformatics studies suggest H1 and H2 antagonists may interact with viral enzymes.
- In vitro studies did not show direct inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by famotidine.
- Prospective randomized trials are pending.
Conclusions:
- Famotidine's potential COVID-19 benefits may stem from immunomodulatory actions on mast cells.
- H2 receptor-mediated effects on histamine-cytokine cross-talk are hypothesized.
- Clinical research is progressing to multi-center trials.
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