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A role for retinoids in the treatment of COVID‐19?
Author(s) -
Trasino Steven E.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1111/1440-1681.13354
Subject(s) - immune system , covid-19 , coronavirus , interferon , immunology , innate immune system , virus , virology , medicine , biology , outbreak , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The 2020 global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2 or COVID‐19) is a serious threat to international health, and thus, there is an urgent need for discovery of novel therapies or use of repurposed drugs that can make a significant impact on slowing the spread of the virus. Type 1 interferons (IFN‐I) are a family cytokines of the early innate immune response to viruses that are being tested against SARS‐CoV‐2. However, coronaviruses similar to SARS‐CoV‐2 can suppress host IFN‐I antiviral responses. Retinoids are a family molecules related to vitamin A that possess robust immune‐modulating properties, including the ability to increase and potentiate the actions of IFN‐I. Therefore, adjuvants such as retinoids, capable of increasing IFN‐I‐mediated antiviral responses, should be tested in combinations of IFN‐I and antiviral drugs in pre‐clinical studies of SARS‐CoV‐2.