Academic Editor: Sang Heui Seo
Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19
pandemic. Although it poses a substantial public health threat, antiviral
regimens against SARS-CoV-2 remain scarce. Here, we evaluated the antiviral
potential of UV-4B, a host targeting antiviral, against SARS-CoV-2 in clinically
relevant human cell lines. Methods: Cells derived from human lung (A549
cells transfected with human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor (ACE2;
ACE2-A549)) and colon (Caco-2) were infected with either a wild type or beta
variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 and exposed to various concentrations of UV-4B.
Supernatant was sampled daily and viral burden was quantified by plaque assay on
Vero E6 cells. Results: Therapeutically feasible concentrations of UV-4B
inhibited the replication of the wild type strain in ACE2-A549 and Caco-2 cells
yielding EC