Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, is a promising candidate for COVID-19 prophylaxis

Mok, C. K.; Ng, Y. L.; Ahidjo, B. A.; Lee, R. C. H.; Loe, M. W. C.; Liu, J.; Tan, K. S.; Kaur, P.; Chng, W. J.; Wong, J. E. L.; Wang, D. Y.; Hao, E. W.; Hao, X.; Tan, Y. W.; Mak, T. M.; Lin, C.; Lin, R. V. T. P.; Tambyah, P. A.; Deng, J.; Chu, J. J. H.

doi:10.1101/2020.06.21.162396

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.06.21.162396

Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, is a promising candidate for COVID-19 prophylaxis

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Abstract

COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (1), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 (2). While awaiting a vaccine, several antivirals are being used to manage the disease with limited success (3, 4). To expand this arsenal, we screened 4 compound libraries: a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug library, an angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) targeted compound library, a flavonoid compound library as well as a natural product library. Of the 121 compounds identified with activity against SARS-CoV-2, 7 were shortlisted for validation. We show for the first time that the active form of Vitamin D, calcitriol, exhibits significant potent activity against SARS-CoV-2. This finding paves the way for consideration of host-directed therapies for ring prophylaxis of contacts of SARS-CoV-2 patients.

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Mok, C. K., Ng, Y. L., Ahidjo, B. A., Lee, R. C. H., Loe, M. W. C., Liu, J., Tan, K. S., Kaur, P., Chng, W. J., Wong, J. E. L., Wang, D. Y., Hao, E. W., Hao, X., Tan, Y. W., Mak, T. M., Lin, C., Lin, R. V. T. P., Tambyah, P. A., Deng, J., Chu, J. J. H.. 2020-06-22. Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, is a promising candidate for COVID-19 prophylaxis. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.21.162396

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