Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19 : Targeting nafamostat to the lungs by a liposomal delivery system

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved..

Despite tremendous global efforts since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, still only a limited number of prophylactic and therapeutic options are available. Although vaccination is the most effective measure in preventing morbidity and mortality, there is a need for safe and effective post-infection treatment medication. In this study, we explored a pipeline of 21 potential candidates, examined in the Calu-3 cell line for their antiviral efficacy, for drug repurposing. Ralimetinib and nafamostat, clinically used drugs, have emerged as attractive candidates. Due to the inherent limitations of the selected drugs, we formulated targeted liposomes suitable for both systemic and intranasal administration. Non-targeted and targeted nafamostat liposomes (LipNaf) decorated with an Apolipoprotein B peptide (ApoB-P) as a specific lung-targeting ligand were successfully developed. The developed liposomal formulations of nafamostat were found to possess favorable physicochemical properties including nano size (119-147 nm), long-term stability of the normally rapidly degrading compound in aqueous solution, negligible leakage from the liposomes upon storage, and a neutral surface charge with low polydispersity index (PDI). Both nafamostat and ralimetinib liposomes showed good cellular uptake and lack of cytotoxicity, and non-targeted LipNaf demonstrated enhanced accumulation in the lungs following intranasal (IN) administration in non-infected mice. LipNaf retained its anti-SARS-CoV 2 activity in Calu 3 cells with only a modest decrease, exhibiting complete inhibition at concentrations >100 nM. IN, but not intraperitoneal (IP) treatment with targeted LipNaf resulted in a trend to reduced viral load in the lungs of K18-hACE2 mice compared to targeted empty Lip. Nevertheless, upon removal of outlier data, a statistically significant 1.9-fold reduction in viral load was achieved. This observation further highlights the importance of a targeted delivery into the respiratory tract. In summary, we were able to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of drug repurposing by liposomal formulations with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The biodistribution and bioactivity studies with LipNaf suggest an IN or inhalation route of administration for optimal therapeutic efficacy.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:364

Enthalten in:

Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society - 364(2023) vom: 07. Dez., Seite 654-671

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Reus, Philipp [VerfasserIn]
Guthmann, Hadar [VerfasserIn]
Uhlig, Nadja [VerfasserIn]
Agbaria, Majd [VerfasserIn]
Issmail, Leila [VerfasserIn]
Eberlein, Valentina [VerfasserIn]
Nordling-David, Mirjam M [VerfasserIn]
Jbara-Agbaria, Doaa [VerfasserIn]
Ciesek, Sandra [VerfasserIn]
Bojkova, Denisa [VerfasserIn]
Cinatl, Jindrich [VerfasserIn]
Burger-Kentischer, Anke [VerfasserIn]
Rupp, Steffen [VerfasserIn]
Zaliani, Andrea [VerfasserIn]
Grunwald, Thomas [VerfasserIn]
Gribbon, Philip [VerfasserIn]
Kannt, Aimo [VerfasserIn]
Golomb, Gershon [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
Drug repurposing
Journal Article
Liposome
Liposomes
Nafamostat
Nanoparticles
SARS-CoV-2
Targeted delivery system
Y25LQ0H97D

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 05.12.2023

Date Revised 05.12.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.10.050

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM364315938