ArticlePLoS pathogens2023
An ACAT inhibitor suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication and boosts antiviral T cell activity.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04318314 (COVID-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
COVID-19: Healthcare Worker Bioresource: Immune Protection and Pathogenesis in SARS-CoV-2
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug Repurposing as a Broad-Spectrum Strategy Against Coronaviruses: Frontiers in Mechanisms and Clinical Translation.Viruses · 2026Review
- Metabolic reprogramming in the enterocytes of neonatal piglets infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus: integrated omics and multi-batch analysis highlight alterations in lipid metabolism and potential therapeutic targets.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Broad-acting antivirals: the pursuit of pan-viral therapeutics in the era of pandemics.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Stalling the Enemy: Targeting Nsp13 for Next-Generation SARS-CoV-2 Antivirals.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The mammalian SKI complex is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug target that upregulates cellular cholesterol to inhibit viral replication.Journal of virology · 2025Article
- A Novel Toolkit of SARS-CoV-2 Sub-Genomic Replicons for Efficient Antiviral Screening.Viruses · 2025Article
- Revisiting the potential of natural antimicrobial peptides against emerging respiratory viral disease: a review.3 Biotech · 2025Review
- Bioinformatics and system biology approach to discover the common pathogenetic processes between COVID-19 and chronic hepatitis B.PloS one · 2025Article
- The diverse interaction of metabolism, immune response, and viral pathogens.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Cholesterol in viral envelope determines infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Cholesterol and Cholesterol-Lowering Medications in COVID-19-An Unresolved Matter.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Inhibition of sterol O-acyltransferase 1 blocks Zika virus infection in cell lines and cerebral organoids.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Cholesterol and COVID-19-therapeutic opportunities at the host/virus interface during cell entry.Life science alliance · 2024Review
- Reversible translocation of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) between the endoplasmic reticulum and vesicular structures.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2023Article
- Lipid compartments and lipid metabolism as therapeutic targets against coronavirus.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The severity of disease following infection with SARS-CoV-2 is determined by viral replication kinetics and host immunity, with early T cell responses and/or suppression of viraemia driving a favourable outcome. Recent studies uncovered a role for cholesterol metabolism in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle and in T cell function. Here we show that blockade of the enzyme Acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) with Avasimibe inhibits SARS-CoV-2 pseudoparticle infection and disrupts the association of ACE2 and GM1 lipid rafts on the cell membrane, perturbing viral attachment. Imaging SARS-CoV-2 RNAs at the single cell level using a viral replicon model identifies the capacity of Avasimibe to limit the establishment of replication complexes required for RNA replication. Genetic studies to transiently silence or overexpress ACAT isoforms confirmed a role for ACAT in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, Avasimibe boosts the expansion of functional SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells from the blood of patients sampled during the acute phase of infection. Thus, re-purposing of ACAT inhibitors provides a compelling therapeutic strategy for the treatment of COVID-19 to achieve both antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. Trial registration: NCT04318314.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.