PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway: a potential target for anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy

• Published in: Immunologic research Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 269 - 275
• Main Authors: Fattahi, Soheila, Khalifehzadeh-Esfahani, Zahra, Mohammad-Rezaei, Mina, Mafi, Sahar, Jafarinia, Morteza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT protein; Allergology; Biological activity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - drug therapy; COVID-19 Vaccines; Health services; Humans; Immune response; Immunology; Immunosuppressive agents; Infections; Inhibitors; Internal Medicine; Kinases; Medicine/Public Health; Metabolic pathways; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Rapamycin; Review; RNA viruses; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Signs and symptoms; Sirolimus - pharmacology; Therapy; TOR protein; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Vaccines; Viral infections; Viruses; COVID-19; mTOR inhibitors; Rapamycin; SARS-CoV-2; PI3K/Akt/ mTOR pathway
• DOI: 10.1007/s12026-022-09268-x
• ISSN: 0257-277X

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A single-stranded RNA virus from a β-Coronaviridae family causes acute clinical manifestations. Its high death rate and severe clinical symptoms have turned it into the most significant challenge worldwide. Up until now, several effective COVID-19 vaccines have been designed and marketed, but our data on specialized therapeutic drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 is still limited. In order to synthesis virus particles, SARS-CoV-2 uses host metabolic pathways such as phosphoinositide3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB, also known as AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). mTOR is involved in multiple biological processes. Over-activation of the mTOR pathway improves viral replication, which makes it a possible target in COVID-19 therapy. Clinical data shows the hyperactivation of the mTOR pathway in lung tissues during respiratory viral infections. However, the exact impact of mTOR pathway inhibitors on the COVID-19 severity and death rate is yet to be thoroughly investigated. There are several mTOR pathway inhibitors. Rapamycin is the most famous inhibitor of mTORC1 among all. Studies on other respiratory viruses suggest that the therapeutic inhibitors of the mTOR pathway, especially rapamycin, can be a potential approach to anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy. Using therapeutic methods that inhibit harmful immune responses can open a new chapter in treating severe COVID-19 disease. We highlighted the potential contribution of PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors in the treatment of COVID-19.