Effect of Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors on SARS-CoV-2.

ABSTRACT

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 led to a severe pandemic situation. Treatment options are limited and the efficacy of vaccines decreases due to mutations in SARS-CoV-2 strains. Therefore, new treatment options are urgently needed, and computational compound screenings are used to predict drugs quickly. One of these screenings revealed farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) as potential candidates. We demonstrated that the FTIs lonafarnib and tipifarnib have an impact on SARS-CoV-2 Wildtype and the Delta variant. Both FTIs dose-dependently reduced morphological changes and the formation of cytopathic effects in SARS-CoV-2 infected Calu-3 cells.