Repurposing DPP-4 Inhibitors as a Novel Intervention in COVID-19: In Silico Analysis for SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein Inhibition

The current pandemic situation necessitates the use of drug repurposing strategy for the fast identification of compounds to fight against SARS-CoV-2 infections. Gliptins, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, commonly used as antidiabetic drug has the potential to be used as viral entry inhibitors. Recently, sitagliptin showed clinically effective results in the treatment of diabetes with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Molecular docking study of eight FDA-approved gliptins were carried out against the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, which revealed good interactions with the amino acid residues of the active site. Gliptins has the potential to be developed as entry inhibitors or antibody–drug conjugates for the treatment of diabetes with COVID-19.