TY - JOUR T1 - Entrectinib - a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor in Human Lung Tissue (HLT) cells JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2021.09.07.459123 SP - 2021.09.07.459123 AU - Peralta-Garcia, Alejandro AU - Torrens-Fontanals, Mariona AU - Stepniewski, Tomasz Maciej AU - Grau-Expósito, Judit AU - Perea, David AU - Ayinampudi, Vikram AU - Waldhoer, Maria AU - Zimmermann, Mirjam AU - Buzón, Maria J. AU - Genescà, Meritxell AU - Selent, Jana Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/09/07/2021.09.07.459123.abstract N2 - Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, pharmaceutical companies and research groups have focused on the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Here, we apply a drug repurposing strategy to identify potential drug candidates that are able to block the entrance of the virus into human cells. By combining virtual screening with in vitro pseudovirus assays and antiviral assays in Human Lung Tissue (HLT) cells, we identify entrectinib as a promising antiviral drug. We found that part of the antiviral action of entrectinib is mediated by a non-specific mechanism, likely occurring at the viral membrane level. Such a profile could provide entrectinib with protection against the development of drug resistance by emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -