Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40879372›Full record

ArticleJournal of virology2025

TGF-β inhibitor SB431542 suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication through multistep inhibition.

Assim Verma, Himanshu Kamboj, Garvit Kumar, Nitin Khandelwal, Benjamin E Mayer, Jitender Rathee, Yogesh Chander, Alka Nokhwal, Shweta Dhanda, Ram Kumar and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of virology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Assim Verma *National Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.ORCID 0009-0006-9651-3055
Himanshu Kamboj *National Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.ORCID 0000-0002-2650-5563
Garvit KumarNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Nitin KhandelwalNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Benjamin E MayerInteruniversity Microelectronics Centre, Leuven, Belgium.
Jitender RatheeNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Yogesh ChanderNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Alka NokhwalNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Shweta DhandaNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Ram KumarNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Ramesh Kumar DedarNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Sandeep Kumar BejjankiDepartment of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India.
Deepti ParasharICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, India.
Gayathri PananghatDepartment of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India.
Bhupendra Nath TripathiNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.
Riyesh ThachamvallyNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.ORCID 0000-0003-0526-5908
Shalini SharmaNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.ORCID 0000-0002-3083-1708
Naveen KumarNational Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, India.ORCID 0000-0003-3974-9409

Funding

ICAR - National Agricultural Science Fund NASF/ABA 8027/2020-21Science and Engineering Research Board CVD/2020/000103
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the critical need for broad-spectrum antivirals with high resistance barriers. Here, we demonstrate that SB431542, a selective TGF-β receptor I (ALK5) inhibitor, exhibits potent antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through unprecedented multitargeted mechanisms. Through comprehensive IMPORTANCE: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for antiviral drugs with high barriers to resistance. This study reveals that SB431542, a drug previously developed to inhibit TGF-β signaling, exhibits remarkable effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 through an unprecedented triple-mechanism approach. Unlike conventional antivirals that target a single viral component, SB431542 simultaneously disrupts viral entry, assembly, and release by binding to the viral ORF3a protein and modulating host cellular processes. Most importantly, SARS-CoV-2 failed to develop resistance against SB431542 even after 50 generations of exposure-a significant advantage over current therapeutics that quickly lose effectiveness due to viral mutations. Our findings also uncover that coronaviruses exploit both lysosomal dysfunction and programmed cell death to spread efficiently, providing new targets for therapeutic intervention. This research establishes SB431542 as a promising broad-spectrum coronavirus inhibitor and demonstrates the value of targeting host-virus interactions to overcome antiviral resistance.

Indexed as

Antiviral AgentsBenzamidesCOVID-19 Drug TreatmentDioxolesSARS-CoV-2Transforming Growth Factor betaVirus ReplicationAnimalsChlorocebus aethiopsCOVID-19HumansLysosomesVero Cells4-(5-benzo(1,3)dioxol-5-yl-4-pyridin-2-yl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzamideAntiviral AgentsBenzamidesDioxolesTransforming Growth Factor betaantiviralSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40879372
PMCPMC12455996

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.