Abelson Kinase Inhibitors Are Potent Inhibitors of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Fusion

Coleman, Christopher M.; Sisk, Jeanne M.; Mingo, Rebecca M.; Nelson, Elizabeth A.; White, Judith M.; Frieman, Matthew B.

Abstract

© 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. The highly pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cause significant morbidity and morality. There is currently no approved therapeutic for highly pathogenic coronaviruses, even as MERS-CoV is spreading throughout the Middle East. We previously screened a library of FDA-approved drugs for inhibitors of coronavirus replication in which we identified Abelson (Abl) kinase inhibitors, including the anticancer drug imatinib, as inhibitors of both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in vitro. Here we show that the anti-CoV activity of imatinib occurs at the early stages of infection, after internalization and endosomal trafficking, by inhibiting fusion of the virions at the endosomal membrane. We specifically identified the imatinib target, Abelson tyrosine-protein kinase 2 (Abl2), as required for efficient SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV replication in vitro. These data demonstrate that specific approved drugs can be characterized in vitro for their anticoronavirus activity and used to identify host proteins required for coronavirus replication. This type of study is an important step in the repurposing of approved drugs for treatment of emerging coronaviruses.

Citation

Coleman, C. M., Sisk, J. M., Mingo, R. M., Nelson, E. A., White, J. M., & Frieman, M. B. (2016). Abelson Kinase Inhibitors Are Potent Inhibitors of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Fusion. Journal of Virology, 90(19), 8924-8933. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01429-16

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 18, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Sep 12, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 17, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Virology
• Print ISSN: 0022-538X
• Electronic ISSN: 1098-5514
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 90
• Issue: 19
• Pages: 8924-8933
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01429-16
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3589921
• Publisher URL: https://jvi.asm.org/content/90/19/8924