Title:Nucleoside Inhibitors of Coronaviruses
Volume: 28
Issue: 26
Author(s): Anastasia A. Zenchenko*, Mikhail S. Drenichev and Sergey N. Mikhailov
Affiliation:
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Str. 32, 119991 Moscow,Russian Federation
Keywords:
Coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, antiviral therapy, RNA viruses, nucleoside drugs.
Abstract: Coronaviruses (CoVs) belong to a large family of zoonotic supercapsid viruses,
including about 40 species of RNA-containing viruses with several strains capable of causing
damage to the lungs and respiratory tract. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(SARS-CoV) was responsible for the worldwide SARS outbreak in 2003. The rapid global
spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been the cause of significant health concerns and thousands of
deaths in 2019-2020 and outlined the need for novel antivirals. The present review is devoted
to the development of effective and selective nucleoside drugs for the treatment of coronavirus
infections. To date, about half of antivirals have been created based on nucleosides. The
majority of drugs based on nucleosides have been approved by FDA. This indicates a fruitful
area for the development of novel antivirals based on nucleosides. The review describes the
main features of pathogenic SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 strains, presents
their comparison, considers promising approaches to creating nucleoside drugs for the treatment
of coronavirus infections and provides a systematic evaluation of all the known nucleoside
derivatives, which inhibit the reproduction of coronaviruses in cells. To date, two known
nucleoside drugs (Remdesivir, Favipiravir) have been recommended for the treatment of
SARS-CoV-2 infection and nine hit compounds based on nucleosides and their analogues
have been found, one of which efficiently suppressing SARS-CoV-2 replication and eight
others inhibiting SARS-CoV replication.
