SARS-CoV-2 RNA Polymerase As Target for Antiviral Therapy

Overview

Journal J Transl Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Biomedical Engineering
General Medicine

Date 2020 May 7

PMID 32370758

Citations 37

Authors

Luigi Buonaguro

Maria Tagliamonte

Maria Lina Tornesello

Franco M Buonaguro

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A new human coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 was identified in several cases of acute respiratory syndrome in Wuhan, China in December 2019. On March 11 2020, WHO declared the SARS-CoV-2 infection to be a pandemic, based on the involvement of 169 nations. Specific drugs for SARS-CoV-2 are obviously not available. Currently, drugs originally developed for other viruses or parasites are currently in clinical trials based on empiric data. In the quest of an effective antiviral drug, the most specific target for an RNA virus is the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) which shows significant differences between positive-sense and negative-sense RNA viruses. An accurate evaluation of RdRps from different viruses may guide the development of new drugs or the repositioning of already approved antiviral drugs as treatment of SARS-CoV-2. This can accelerate the containment of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and, hopefully, of future pandemics due to other emerging zoonotic RNA viruses.

Citing Articles

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