Unravelling the Potential of Anticancer Drugs for SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Purpose of Review Concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, repositioning several anticancer drugs has modulated SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory responses and disrupted viral replication. This review aims to discuss the potential of anticancer drug repositioning (DR) for anti-SARS-CoV-2 RdRp, its limitations, and other notable successes of DR against COVID-19. Recent Findings The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, an etiological agent that accounted for the current chaotic COVID-19 episode, has brought many lives away. Notably, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) has contributed significantly to the viral replication of all RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, making it a promising target for drug treatment. The lack of efficacious drugs combined with the prolonged duration of the drug discovery process has prompted many to opt for drug repositioning (DR) as an alternative route to combat current or emerging diseases. The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a telomerase catalytic subunit in cancers, has been identified with functional and structural similarities to the viral RdRp, making it a potential target to explore drug repositioning of current anticancer drugs for antiviral usage. Summary Taken together, the investigation of hTERT and other anticancer drugs is essential to explore other uses of existing drugs for COVID-19, especially in such an urgent time of need. This review highlights the prospects of repositioning anticancer drugs against COVID-19 and its limitations.

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