According to a study, “Disulfiram, the medication used to treat alcoholism, may help in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19”.
The researchers from National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Russia said that “the structural elements of the novel coronavirus that are less subject to mutation during its evolution should be chosen as a target for the potential treatment. Otherwise, a medication effective against one strain would no longer be effective against another”.
According to the study published in the Mendeleev Communications journal, “The best candidates for this are conservative proteins, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus main protease M pro”.
The researchers said, “In addition to being resistant to mutations, M pro plays a major role in coronavirus replication, which means that its inhibition is able to slow down or even completely stop its reproduction inside the body”.
The potential drugs are from the database of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications.
The researchers said, “The modelling data demonstrated that sulphur-containing drugs show unusually high ligand efficiency at the active centre of SARS-CoV-2 main protease M pro, but only disulfiram 4 retains stable interactions. Most commonly used for treating alcoholism, disulfiram fights SARS-CoV-2 in two ways. ”
They added, “First, as previously demonstrated in vitro with SARS and MERS coronaviruses, it is a covalent inhibitor. It fights COVID-19 symptoms such as the significant decrease in reduced glutathione, which is an important antioxidant. This deficiency may lead to severe manifestations of the disease. ”
The Russian chemists claimed they were also the first to estimate the likeable efficiency of neratinib, an irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, against SARS-CoV-2.
According to the researchers, “The tests that were performed on July 27, 2020, demonstrated that disulfiram really inhibits M pro in 100 nm concentration, which confirmed the results of the modelling. The second substance neratinib demonstrated activity on M pro, but it was insufficient for clinical use.”