SHANGHAI and HONG KONG, July 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In June 2021, results from a preclinical study jointly conducted by Antengene, American biopharmaceutical company Karyopharm Therapeutics and University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine has been published in a paper titled "selinexor, a novel selective inhibitor of nuclear export, reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection and protects the respiratory system in vivo", in Antiviral Research (192(2021),105-115), a leading scientific journal in the field of virology. Results from the study showed that the nuclear export protein exportin-1 (XPO1) plays a direct role in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19); and the selective oral inhibitor of XPO1, selinexor, has potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity both in vitro and in vivo. These results demonstrated selinexor as a potential therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.
SARS-CoV-2 is the viral pathogen that caused the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2019. Results from this study and other existing evidence have shown that XPO1 has a direct role in SARS-CoV replication and pathogenesis, and is responsible for the nuclear export of certain SARS-CoV proteins including ORF3b, ORF9b, and nucleocapsid, which help the virus evade innate immunity. Moreover, similar activity was also reported for the host nuclear protein glioma tumor suppressor candidate region gene 2 (GLTSCR2), as coronavirus infection induces XPO1-dependent cytoplasmic translocation of GLTSCR2, leading to attenuated IFN-β induction and supporting viral replication. Therefore, XPO1 inhibitions may play a positive role in blockading viral replications and transmission, as well as in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.