Tweet
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol
. 2020 Jun 10.
doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00124.2020. Online ahead of print.
Is Targeting Akt a Viable Option to Treat Advanced-Stage COVID-19 Patients?
Payaningal R Somanath 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 32519895
- DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00124.2020
Abstract
One of the primary reasons for high mortality in the advanced stage coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients is the uncontrolled inflammation in the lungs leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Controlling the pathological inflammation in the ARDS lungs without compromising the immune system's fight against the virus is indeed a daunting task. In this situation, an appropriate therapeutic target would be the one that will not only reverse the damaging inflammation and promote resolution but also helps to check the root cause of the virus infection. Akt is a potential therapeutic target for the advanced stage COVID-19 patients; its inhibition will potentially suppress the pathological inflammation, cytokine storm, fibroproliferation, and platelet activation associated with COVID-19, and at the same time prevent scarring and promote resolution in injured lungs. As pharmacological inhibition of Akt has also been reported to inhibit ACE2 expression, a receptor for the virus entry into the lung cells, targeting Akt for COVID-19 looks a viable option.
Keywords: Akt; COVID-19; MK2206; Treg; Triciribine.