The global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection is a health emergency that needs to be addressed immediately. The international scientific community, following World Health Organization (WHO) indications, launched different… Click to show full abstract
The global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection is a health emergency that needs to be addressed immediately. The international scientific community, following World Health Organization (WHO) indications, launched different trials for testing drugs putatively able to block the SARS-CoV-2 infection or treat the COVID-19 disease symptoms. In parallel, studies devoted to a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology are in the course for designing an effective vaccine. One of the human membrane proteins known to be docked by the virus is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), proposed to be responsible for viral entry in target cells. Recently, the 3D structure of ACE2 has been obtained, showing its physical interaction with B0AT1 (SLC6A19), a plasma membrane transporter involved in the trafficking of amino acids in cells. The receptor targeted by SARS-CoV-2 is a supercomplex formed by a dimer of ACE2-B0AT1, in which ACE2 binds the viral protein and B0AT1 stabilizes the heterodimer. As a serendipity occurrence, nimesulide was shown to abolish the transport function of B0AT1. Here we suggest including nimesulide in the list of drugs to be tested for the identification of co-adjuvants in the treatment of COVID-19.
               
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