Potential Mechanistic Investigation of Bromhexine for the Treatment of COVID-19
YANG Yong1,2, SHEN Hao2, ZHAO Shan-mei-zi3, WANG Dong4, WANG Hao-ran5*
1. Personalized Drug Therapy Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu 610072, China; 2. School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; 3. Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, China; 4. School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China; 5. Neoland Biosciences, Weihai 264200, China
Abstract：OBJECTIVE To investigate antiviral mechanism of bromhexine for the treatment of COVID-19. METHODS Based on the existing literature, the infection pathways of new coronavirus(SARS-CoV-2) were systematically summarized by us, and used the SWISSDOCK molecular simulation method to carry out virtual screen systematically for key targets and marketed drugs. RESULTS TMPRSS2/ACE2 pathway was found to be the most efficient and probably the major pathway for SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect the lung and other tissue by us. Bromhexine, an expectorant, can strongly inhibit TMPRSS2 protease (EC50:0.75 μmol·L-1) in vitro. Bromhexine has few adverse effects and also has the beneficial effects of promoting the release and maintenance of endogenous active substances in the lung, alveolar function, and promoting sputum excretion, which is suitable for use together with other COVID19 medication and therapies. CONCLUSION Bromhexine has a unique potential antiviral mechanism, and clinical research should be conducted to play its role in the prevention, treatment and prognosis of COVID19.
杨勇, 沈浩, 赵山美子, 王东, 王浩然. 溴己新治疗新型冠状病毒肺炎的潜在机制分析[J]. 中国药学杂志, 2020, 55(9): 679-684.
YANG Yong, SHEN Hao, ZHAO Shan-mei-zi, WANG Dong, WANG Hao-ran. Potential Mechanistic Investigation of Bromhexine for the Treatment of COVID-19. Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, 2020, 55(9): 679-684.
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2020, Vol. 55 
