Biochem Biophys Res Commun . The main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are two prime targets for SARS-CoV-2

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Biochem Biophys Res Commun


. 2020 Nov 21;S0006-291X(20)32018-0.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.10.091. Online ahead of print.
The main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are two prime targets for SARS-CoV-2


Zhenming Jin ¹ , Haofeng Wang ² , Yinkai Duan ³ , Haitao Yang ⁴



Affiliations

• PMID: 33288200
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.10.091

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), poses an unprecedented global health crisis. It is particularly urgent to develop clinically effective therapies to contain the pandemic. The main protease (M^pro) and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), which are responsible for the viral polyprotein proteolytic process and viral genome replication and transcription, respectively, are two attractive drug targets for SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes up-to-date progress in the structural and pharmacological aspects of those two key targets above. Different classes of inhibitors individually targeting M^pro and RdRP are discussed, which could promote drug development to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: Inhibitors; Main protease; RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; SARS-CoV-2.