Using heparin molecules to manage COVID‐2019

• Published in: Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 518 - 523
• Main Authors: Liu, Jian, Li, Jine, Arnold, Katelyn, Pawlinski, Rafal, Key, Nigel S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.05.2020; Elsevier Limited; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acids; Analgesics; Anticoagulants; Binding sites; Chemokines; chondroitin sulfate; coagulation; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Extracellular matrix; Heparan sulfate; heparin; Herpes viruses; Infections; Inflammation; Ischemia; Liver; Mortality; Proteins; Review; Sepsis; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; heparin; heparan sulfate; COVID‐19; coagulation; chondroitin sulfate
• ISSN: 2475-0379; 2475-0379
• DOI: 10.1002/rth2.12353

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is becoming one of the largest global public health crises in modern history. The race for an effective drug to prevent or treat the infection is the highest priority among health care providers, government officials, and the pharmaceutical industry. Recent evidence reports that the use of low‐molecular‐weight heparin reduces mortality in patients with severe coronavirus with coagulopathy. Although the full scope of the benefits from heparin for COVID‐19 patients is unfolding, encouraging clinical data suggest that heparin‐like molecules may represent a useful approach to treat or prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. The intent of this article is to offer our opinions on the mechanism(s) by which heparin may attenuate the course of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Furthermore, we propose a novel strategy to treat or prevent SARS‐CoV‐2 infection using “designer” heparin molecules that are fabricated using a synthetic biology approach.