Evidence Supporting the Use of Peptides and Peptidomimetics As Potential SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Therapeutics
Sonya VanPatten, Mingzhu He, Ahmad S. Altiti, Kai Cheng, Mustafa H. Ghanem, Yousef Al‐Abed
Abstract
During a disease outbreak/pandemic situation such as COVID-19, researchers are in a prime position to identify and develop peptide-based therapies, which could be more rapidly and cost-effectively advanced into a clinical setting. One drawback of natural peptide drugs, however, is their proteolytic instability; peptidomimetics can help to overcome this caveat. In this review, we summarize peptide and peptide-based therapeutics that target one main entry pathway of SARS-CoV-2, which involves the host ACE2 receptor and viral spike (S) protein interaction. Furthermore, we discuss the advantages of peptidomimetics and other potential targets that have been studied using peptide-based therapeutics for COVID-19.