Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19

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

doi:10.1016/j.jphs.2022.04.007

Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19

J Pharmacol Sci. 2022 Jul;149(3):108-114. doi: 10.1016/j.jphs.2022.04.007. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Authors

Yuri Kato¹, Kazuhiro Nishiyama¹, Akiyuki Nishimura², Takamasa Noda³, Kaori Okabe⁴, Takahiro Kusakabe⁵, Yasunari Kanda⁶, Motohiro Nishida⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
² 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.
³ 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.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Division of Pharmacology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Kawasaki, Japan.
⁷ 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. Electronic address: nishida@phar.kyushu-u.ac.jp.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Cardiomyocyte; Eco-pharma; NADPH oxidase; Protein–protein interaction; Transient receptor potential channel.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
COVID-19 Drug Treatment*
Drug Repositioning
Heart Failure*
Humans
Mammals
SARS-CoV-2