FABP4 as a Therapeutic Host Target Controlling SARS-CoV2 Infection (preprint)

Host metabolic fitness is a critical determinant of infectious disease outcomes. In COVID-19, obesity and aging are major high-risk disease modifiers, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), a critical regulator of metabolic dysfunction in these conditions, regulates SARS-CoV2 pathogenesis. Our study revealed that elevated FABP4 levels in COVID-19 patients strongly correlate with disease severity. In adipocytes and airway epithelial cells we found that loss of FABP4 function by genetic or pharmacological means impaired SARS-CoV2 replication and disrupted the formation of viral replication organelles. Furthermore, treatment of infected hamsters with FABP4 inhibitors alleviated lung damage and fibrosis and reduced lung viral titers. These results highlight a novel host factor critical for SARS-CoV2 infection and the therapeutic potential of FABP4-targeting agents in treating COVID-19 patients.

A Highly Potent SARS-CoV-2 Blocking Lectin Protein (preprint)

COVID-19 pandemic effected more than 180 million people around the globe causing more than four million deaths as of July 2021. Sars-CoV-2, the new coronavirus, has been identified as the primary cause of the infection. The number of vaccinated people is increasing however prophylactic drugs are highly demanded to ensure a secure social contact. There have been a number of drug molecules repurposed to fight against Sars-CoV-2, however the proofs for the effectiveness of these drug candidates is limited. Here we demonstrated griffithsin (GRFT), a lectin protein, to block the entry of the Sars-CoV2 into the Vero6 cell lines and IFNAR-/- mouse models by attaching to spike protein of the Sars-CoV-2. Given the current mutation frequency of the Sars-CoV-2 we believe that GRFT protein-based drugs will have a high impact in preventing the transmission both on Wuhan strain as well as any other emerging variants including delta variant causing high speed spread of COVID-19.