Robust antiviral activity of commonly prescribed antidepressants against emerging coronaviruses: in vitro and in silico drug repurposing studies

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 12920 - 12
• Main Authors: Kutkat, Omnia, Moatasim, Yassmin, Al‐Karmalawy, Ahmed A., Abulkhair, Hamada S., Gomaa, Mokhtar R., El-Taweel, Ahmed N., Abo Shama, Noura M., GabAllah, Mohamed, Mahmoud, Dina B., Kayali, Ghazi, Ali, Mohamed A., Kandeil, Ahmed, Mostafa, Ahmed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28.07.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/154; 639/638; 692/699; Amitriptyline; Antidepressants; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Antiviral drugs; Clinical trials; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Eating disorders; Headache; Humanities and Social Sciences; Imipramine; Mental depression; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Migraine; multidisciplinary; Neuralgia; Pandemics; Paroxetine; Patients; Prophylaxis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sertraline; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17082-6

During the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, symptoms of depression are commonly documented among both symptomatic and asymptomatic quarantined COVID-19 patients. Despite that many of the FDA-approved drugs have been showed anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro and remarkable efficacy against COVID-19 in clinical trials, no pharmaceutical products have yet been declared to be fully effective for treating COVID-19. Antidepressants comprise five major drug classes for the treatment of depression, neuralgia, migraine prophylaxis, and eating disorders which are frequently reported symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Herein, the efficacy of eight frequently prescribed FDA-approved antidepressants on the inhibition of both SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV was assessed. Additionally, the in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anti-MERS-CoV activities were evaluated. Furthermore, molecular docking studies have been performed for these drugs against the spike (S) and main protease (M pro ) pockets of both SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV. Results showed that Amitriptyline, Imipramine, Paroxetine, and Sertraline had potential anti-viral activities. Our findings suggested that the aforementioned drugs deserve more in vitro and in vivo studies targeting COVID-19 especially for those patients suffering from depression.