@article{5dbe0b556e694e608f918267683f8dbc,
title = "Atovaquone and berberine chloride reduce sars-cov-2 replication in vitro",
abstract = "Epidemic RNA viruses seem to arise year after year leading to countless infections and devastating disease. SARS-CoV-2 is the most recent of these viruses, but there will undoubtedly be more to come. While effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are being deployed, one approach that is still missing is effective antivirals that can be used at the onset of infections and therefore prevent pandemics. Here, we screened FDA-approved compounds against SARS-CoV-2. We found that atovaquone, a pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitor, is able to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection in human lung cells. In addition, we found that berberine chloride, a plant-based compound used in holistic medicine, was able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells through direct interaction with the virion. Taken together, these studies highlight potential avenues of antiviral development to block emerging viruses. Such proactive approaches, conducted well before the next pandemic, will be essential to have drugs ready for when the next emerging virus hits.",
keywords = "Antiviral, Atovaquone, Berberine chloride, Coronavirus",
author = "Rodriguez-Rodriguez, {Bruno A.} and Noval, {Maria G.} and Kaczmarek, {Maria E.} and Jang, {Kyung Ku} and Thannickal, {Sara A.} and Kottkamp, {Angelica Cifuentes} and Brown, {Rebecca S.} and Margaret Kielian and Ken Cadwell and Stapleford, {Kenneth A.}",
note = "Funding Information: This research was funded by a start-up package from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine (K.A.S.), philanthropy funding from Citadel (K.A.S.), the Public Health Service Institutional Research Training Award T32 AI007180 (B.A.R.-R.) and T32 AI7647 (M.E.K), the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship (19-A0-00-1003686) (M.G.N.), NIH grants DK093668 (K.C.), AI121244 (K.C.), HL123340 (K.C.), AI130945 (K.C.), AI140754 (K.C.), a Faculty Scholar Grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (K.C.), Crohn{\textquoteright}s and Colitis Foundation (K.C.), Kenneth Rainin Foundation (K.C.), Judith and Stewart Colton Center of Autoimmunity (K.C.), Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program (A.C.K.), a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant (R01AI075647) (M.K.), an NIH NRSA (F32-GM122450) postdoctoral fellowship and a Charles Revson Senior Fellow in Biomedical Sciences award (R.S.B.). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = dec,
doi = "10.3390/v13122437",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "13",
journal = "Viruses",
issn = "1999-4915",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "12",
}
