Abstract
COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a significant threat to global public health since its outbreak in late 2019. Although there are a few drugs approved for clinical treatment to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection currently, the severity of the ongoing global pandemic still urges the efforts to discover new antiviral compounds. As the viral spike (S) protein plays a key role in mediating virus entry, it becomes a potential target for the design of antiviral drugs against COVID-19. Here, we tested the antiviral activity of berbamine hydrochloride, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that berbamine hydrochloride could efficiently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in different cell lines. Further experiments showed berbamine hydrochloride inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting the viral entry into host cells. Moreover, berbamine hydrochloride and other bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids could potently inhibit S-mediated cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, molecular docking results implied that the berbamine hydrochloride could bind to the post fusion core of SARS-CoV-2 S2 subunit. Therefore, berbamine hydrochloride may represent a potential efficient antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Antiviral, SARS-COV-2 infection, severity, antiviral drugs, Infection, molecular docking, Antiviral compounds, drug, antiviral activity, viral entry, antiviral drug, global pandemic, Protein, outbreak, virus entry, experiment, antiviral agent, cell lines, Clinical treatment, host cells, subunit, global public health, effort, viral spike, S-mediated cell-cell fusion, SARS-CoV-2 S2, tested, caused, inhibit, approved, inhibit SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 membrane fusion, berbamine, inhibit,