Antihelminthic Compounds Could Help Treat COVID-19

Antihelminthic compounds have the potential to fight against certain viruses. They can also help treat SARS-CoV-2 infections by shutting down the viral multiplication.

Salicylanilide anthelmintic drugs could be used to treat COVID-19 effectively, say researchers. A new study by the scientists from the Scripps research institute demonstrated that salicylanilide compounds could reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication and suppress induction of inflammatory cytokines in an animal model.

Salicylanilides are a group of chemical compounds used as therapeutic agents against worm infections in cattle. Some salicylanilides like niclosamide and oxyclozanide are suitable for use in humans to treat tapeworm infestations.

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‘Salicylanilide No. 11 does not allow the production of new viral particles inside the human body. It can also block the activity of IL-6 and reduce the chances of cytokine storm that occurs in COVID patients.’

Previous studies have found that these compounds work against certain viruses. The major issues have been their gut-restricted characteristics and potency to cause toxicity. The new compound overcomes both problems in mouse and cell-based tests.

Professor Kim Janda, Ph.D., director of the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine at Scripps Research started screening an array of salicylanilide compounds as soon as the SARS-CoV-2 virus started creating a global pandemic in early 2020. They found that the most efficacious compound among the list was Salicylanilide No. 11.

"Salicylanilide No. 11 differs from the commercial tapeworm medicines in key ways, including its ability to pass beyond the gut and be absorbed into the bloodstream—and without the worrisome toxicity.”

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“The compound’s antiviral mechanism is the key. It blocks the viral material from getting out of the endosome, and it just gets degraded. This process does not allow new viral particles to be made as readily. This mechanism is not dependent on the virus spike protein, so these new variants coming up aren’t going to relegate us to finding new molecules as is the case with vaccines or antibodies,” Janda says.

The compound can also modulate key cytokines like IL-6 and reduce the chances of deadly cytokine storms in COVID patients. Further, the team reports that mitigating severe weight loss involved in COVID-19 infections would also be easy using this compound.

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This study regarding the potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of salicylanilides was published in the journal ACS Infectious Disease .

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

Source-Medindia