Repurposing a Safe Drug to Fight COVID-19

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which led to the global COVID-19 pandemic, has a high mortality rate. While there are treatments available, scientists are still looking for more antivirals that can effectively combat the virus. Enter lonafarnib, or LNF, a drug already approved by the FDA to block cellular farnesyltransferase (FTase). Researchers found that LNF can restrain SARS-CoV-2 infection and even enhance the effects of other known anti-SARS virals. What's more, LNF doesn't discriminate – it works against various SARS-CoV-2 variants. Scientists delved deeper to understand how LNF works. It appeared that LNF interferes with many stages of the virus's life cycle. To confirm this, they used different FTase inhibitors and observed the impact of LNF on resistant FTase mutants. Their findings showed that FTase plays a crucial role in the virus's life cycle. To test LNF's effectiveness in a real-life scenario, they infected mice with the human form of the virus and treated them with LNF at a dose that's safe for humans. The results were promising: LNF reduced the viral load in the respiratory tract and improved lung health and overall clinical outcomes. This study highlights lonafarnib as a potential game-changer in the fight against COVID-19 and maybe even other viral infections.