
In vitro laboratory tests have shown that polyether ionophores, notably the antibiotic X-206, are potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. However, since their safety for human use is unknown, further tests need to be done to determine their potential for use as antivirals for COVID-19.
One of the efforts to combat the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is repurposing drugs already in use.
Polyether ionophores are a family of natural products used as antibiotics. Often used in animals, they can inhibit gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains. They have also been seen to have antiviral activity against RNA and DNA viruses like influenza, HIV, and Zika. Studies reported that the ionophores salinomycin and monensin could inhibit Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV), a coronavirus pathogen closely related to SARS-CoV-2. While the exact mechanism of antiviral activity in ionophores is unknown, it is likely that they interfere with the virus replication cycle.
Polyether ionophores inhibit SARS-CoV-2In a recent study published in the journal Antiviral Research, researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, report on their tests on different polyether ionophores to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.…
Summary on Potential SARS-CoV-2 antiviral: Ionophore X-206 found to inhibit viral replication in cell cultures provided by on