Virucidal activity and mechanism of action of cetylpyridinium chloride against SARS-CoV-2

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Recent studies have shown the importance of the throat and salivary glands as sites of virus replication and transmission. The viral host receptor,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Okamoto, Nako, Saito, Akatsuki, Okabayashi, Tamaki, Komine, Akihiko
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 31.01.2022
Subjects
ACE2
Angiotensin
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2
Antiviral activity
Cetylpyridinium chloride
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
Enzymes
Epithelial cells
Exocrine glands
Infectivity
Pandemics
Peptidyl-dipeptidase A
Proteins
Salivary gland
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
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Summary:Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Recent studies have shown the importance of the throat and salivary glands as sites of virus replication and transmission. The viral host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), is broadly enriched in epithelial cells of the salivary glands and oral mucosae. Oral care products containing cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as a bactericidal ingredient are known to exhibit antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. However, the exact mechanism of action remains unknown. Methods: This study examined the antiviral activity of CPC against SARS-CoV-2 and its inhibitory effect on the interaction between the viral spike (S) protein and ACE2 using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: CPC (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.3%) effectively inactivated SARS-CoV-2 within the contact times (20 and 60 s) in directions for use of oral care products in vitro. The binding ability of both the S protein and ACE2 were reduced by CPC. Conclusions: Our results suggest that CPC inhibits the interaction between S protein and ACE2, and thus, reduces infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and suppresses viral adsorption. Competing Interest Statement N. O. and A. K. receive salaries from Sunstar Inc., Osaka, Japan. Sunstar supplied test samples, reagents and equipment for the experiments on proteins. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
DOI:10.1101/2022.01.27.477964