#74 Cholestolone: Repurposing on SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic RDRP targets

Abstract

Covid-19 vaccination drives are rolling out globally. However, there is a need to identify effective treatment on SARS-CoV-2 and its non-synonym variants. In pandemic urgency, discovering a new drug is impossible considering the time scale and attrition rate. Thus, the concept of repurposing labeled or already approved drugs to treat Covid-19 would be a logical choice for new drug development Covid-19. The current study identifies labeled drugs targeted to the SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic RdRp targets. The study deals with the drug repurposing using virtual screening of antilipidemic agent Cholestolone, which targets sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP). The PASS study Cholestolone showed the antiviral potential. Hence, the drug was further studied computationally on RdRp targets PDB ID: 6VSB, 6XQB, and 7A98 protein sequences retrieved from the NCBI database. Molecular docking was carried out to evaluate the potential energy of interactions, hydrogen bonds, non-hydrogen bonds, and the binding mode of Cholestolon against RdRp.The docking studies were performed using AutoDock Vina to determine the potential drug candidates for inhibiting the SARS-CoV-2, and the binding affinity was found to be -6.8, -7.6, and -6.3, respectively. Based on the promising results from virtual screening, further in-vivo/in-vitro study is recommended.