ABSTRACT
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a global pandemic due to the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). At the time of this manuscript's publication, remdesivir is the only COVID-19 treatment approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. However, its effectiveness is still under question due to the results of the large Solidarity Trial conducted by the World Health Organization. Herein, we report that the parent nucleoside of remdesivir, GS-441524, potently inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 and other cell lines. Challenge studies in both an AAV-hACE2 mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 and in mice infected with murine hepatitis virus, a closely related coronavirus, showed that GS-441524 was highly efficacious in reducing the viral titers in CoV-infected organs without notable toxicity. Our results support that GS-441524 is a promising and inexpensive drug candidate for treating of COVID-19 and other CoV diseases.
Subject(s)
Adenosine/analogs & derivatives , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Disease Models, Animal , Adenosine/chemistry , Adenosine/metabolism , Adenosine/pharmacology , Animals , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/metabolism , COVID-19/metabolism , COVID-19/pathology , Cells, Cultured , Chlorocebus aethiops , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Molecular Structure , Structure-Activity RelationshipABSTRACT
Lipid nanocarriers are becoming a versatile platform for oral delivery of lipophilic drugs. In this article, we aimed to explore the gastrointestinal behaviors of lipid nanoparticles and the effect of PEGylation on oral absorption of fenofibrate (FN), a Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) II model drug. FN-loaded PEGylated lipid nanoparticles (FN-PLNs) were prepared by the solvent-diffusion method and characterized by particle size distribution, morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and drug release. Lipolytic experiments were performed to assess the resistance of lipid nanoparticles against pancreatic lipase. Pharmacokinetics was evaluated in rats after oral administration of FN preparations. The obtained FN-PLNs were 186.7 nm in size with an entrapment efficiency of >95%. Compared to conventional lipid nanoparticles, PLNs exhibited slower drug release in the lipase-containing medium, strikingly reduced mucin binding, and suppressed lipolysis in vitro. Further, oral absorption of FN was significantly enhanced using PLNs with relative bioavailability of 123.9% and 157.0% to conventional lipid nanoparticles and a commercial formulation (Lipanthyl(®)), respectively. It was demonstrated that reduced mucin trapping, suppressed lipolysis, and/or improved mucosal permeability were responsible for increased oral absorption. These results facilitated a better understanding of the in vivo fate of lipid nanoparticles, and suggested the potential of PLNs as oral carriers of BCS II drugs.