Ceftazidime Marked as Potential Inhibitor of COVID-19

Jan, 2021 - By SMI

The researchers found that ceftazidime (an antibiotic) is the most potent with around 81% inhibition.

The research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that ceftazidime binds to the receptors that the novel coronavirus binds to in human cells, after screening around 3,500 Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs and small molecules. Ceftazidime is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of several bacterial infections, and is considered safe except for folks with allergic reactions to cephalosporin. This medication might be used to prevent the virus infection. Researchers across the world are racing to find strategies to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus or to prevent the virus from infecting more individuals.

However, some methods are now known by which the virus attacks human cells, and have guided some treatment approaches. As the disease continues to wreak havoc worldwide, many strategies are currently being tested to counter COVID-19. The virus has infected more than 31 million people across the globe. The virus contains proteins, named spike proteins, which exit its surface. A portion of these proteins contains regions named Receptor-Binding Domains (RBDs) that can bind the receptors of ACE2 found on host cells. After the first round of screening, the team identified 75 compounds, indicating at least 45% inhibition.

The researchers then selected 10 compounds such as myricetin, bleomycin, theaflavin, hematein, chiniofon, ceftazidime, trientine hydrochloride, norepinephrine, levodopa, and bleomycin sulfate. The team found that ceftazidime is the most potent, among these ten molecules, with around 81% inhibition. Apart from ceftazidime, the researchers also tested 14 other cephalosporins, such as cefazolin and cephradine. However, only ceftazidime inhibited the binding of the virus to ACE2. The team suggests that ceftazidime can be used to treat the novel coronavirus infection. The research was published in September 2020 in the preprint server bioRxiv.