Regulation of m6A Methylation as a New Therapeutic Option against COVID-19

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting pandemic has led to a spasmodic search for approaches able to limit the diffusion of the disease. The epigenetic machinery has aroused considerable interest in the last decades, and much evidence has demonstrated that this type of modification could r...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Carla Zannella, Luca Rinaldi, Giovanni Boccia, Annalisa Chianese, Ferdinando Carlo Sasso, Francesco De Caro, Gianluigi Franci, Massimiliano Galdiero
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
Materias:
m6A
R
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/a15887ae802c47cfbb03997ac9fe8272
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting pandemic has led to a spasmodic search for approaches able to limit the diffusion of the disease. The epigenetic machinery has aroused considerable interest in the last decades, and much evidence has demonstrated that this type of modification could regulate the early stages of viral infection. Recently it was reported that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) influences SARS-CoV-2 replication, although its role remains to be further investigated. The knockdown of enzymes involved in the m6A pathway could represent an optimal strategy to deepen the epigenetic mechanism. In the present study, we blocked the catalytic activity of the fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) by using the selective inhibitor rhein. We observed a strong broad-spectrum reduction of infectivity caused by various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. This effect could be due to the modulation of m6A levels and could allow identification of this modification as a new therapeutic target to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.