Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19

Yuri Kato; Kazuhiro Nishiyama; Akiyuki Nishimura; Takamasa Noda; Kaori Okabe; Takahiro Kusakabe; Yasunari Kanda; Motohiro Nishida

Journal of Pharmacological Sciences (Jul 2022)

Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19

Yuri Kato,
Kazuhiro Nishiyama,
Akiyuki Nishimura,
Takamasa Noda,
Kaori Okabe,
Takahiro Kusakabe,
Yasunari Kanda,
Motohiro Nishida

Affiliations

Yuri Kato: Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Kazuhiro Nishiyama: Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Akiyuki Nishimura: Division of Cardiocirculatory Signaling, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Department of Creative Research, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, SOKENDAI, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
Takamasa Noda: Department of Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan; Integrative Brain Imaging Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Brain Bioregulatory Science, The Jikei University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Kaori Okabe: Department of Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
Takahiro Kusakabe: Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Yasunari Kanda: Division of Pharmacology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Kawasaki, Japan
Motohiro Nishida: Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Division of Cardiocirculatory Signaling, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Department of Creative Research, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Corresponding author. Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University. 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. Tel./fax: +81 92 642-6556.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 149, no. 3
pp. 108 – 114

Abstract

Read online

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains prevalent worldwide since its onset was confirmed in Wuhan, China in 2019. Vaccines against the causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have shown a preventive effect against the onset and severity of COVID-19, and social and economic activities are gradually recovering. However, the presence of vaccine-resistant variants has been reported, and the development of therapeutic agents for patients with severe COVID-19 and related sequelae remains urgent. Drug repurposing, also called drug repositioning or eco-pharma, is the strategy of using previously approved and safe drugs for a therapeutic indication that is different from their original indication. The risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality increases with advancing age, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. We have reported three protein–protein interactions that are related to heart failure, and recently identified that one mechanism increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mammalian cells. This review outlines the global efforts and outcomes of drug repurposing research for the treatment of severe COVID-19. It also discusses our recent finding of a new protein–protein interaction that is common to COVID-19 aggravation and heart failure.

Published in Journal of Pharmacological Sciences

ISSN: 1347-8613 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Japan
LCC subjects: Medicine: Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-pharmacological-sciences

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords