ArticlePharmaceutical research2020
A Systems Biology Workflow for Drug and Vaccine Repurposing: Identifying Small-Molecule BCG Mimics to Reduce or Prevent COVID-19 Mortality.
Article in Pharmaceutical research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reduced mortality during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, 2020: a two-stage interrupted time-series design.International journal of epidemiology · 2022Pooled it
- Blood Coagulation in COVID-19: Systems-Biology Evidence, Clinical Implications, and Therapeutic Opportunities in an Evolving Pandemic.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Computational Insights into the Polypharmacological Landscape of BCR-ABL Inhibitors: Emphasis on Imatinib and Nilotinib.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Phytochemical characterization and bioinformatics guided evaluation of antioxidant and cytotoxic effects of Psoralea bituminosa.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Unraveling the Anticancer Potential of SSRIs in Prostate Cancer by Combining Computational Systems Biology andACS omega · 2025Article
- Article
- Integrating computational and experimental chemical biology revealed variable anticancer activities of phosphodiesterase isoenzyme 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) in lung cancer.RSC medicinal chemistry · 2024Article
- Molecular docking as a tool for the discovery of novel insight about the role of acid sphingomyelinase inhibitors in SARS- CoV-2 infectivity.BMC public health · 2024Review
- Identifying a causal link between prolactin signaling pathways and COVID-19 vaccine-induced menstrual changes.NPJ vaccines · 2023Article
- Understanding COVID-19 in children: immune determinants and post-infection conditions.Pediatric research · 2023Review
- Phase II, Double-Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial Investigating the Efficacy of Mebendazole in the Management of Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Reductionist methodology and the ambiguity of the categories of race and ethnicity in biomedical research: an exploratory study of recent evidence.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2023Article
- Analyzing the Systems Biology Effects of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines to Assess Their Safety and Putative Side Effects.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Can anti-parasitic drugs help control COVID-19?Future virology · 2022Review
- Trained Immunity: An Overview and the Impact on COVID-19.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Shedding the Light on Post-Vaccine Myocarditis and Pericarditis in COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients.Vaccines · 2021Article
- Update on Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase (FIASMAs) in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Chemocentric Informatics Analysis: DexamethasoneACS omega · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to continue to cause worldwide fatalities until the World population develops 'herd immunity', or until a vaccine is developed and used as a prevention. Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to identify alternative means of antiviral defense. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine that has been recognized for its off-target beneficial effects on the immune system can be exploited to boast immunity and protect from emerging novel viruses.
methodsWe developed and employed a systems biology workflow capable of identifying small-molecule antiviral drugs and vaccines that can boast immunity and affect a wide variety of viral disease pathways to protect from the fatal consequences of emerging viruses.
resultsOur analysis demonstrates that BCG vaccine affects the production and maturation of naïve T cells resulting in enhanced, long-lasting trained innate immune responses that can provide protection against novel viruses. We have identified small-molecule BCG mimics, including antiviral drugs such as raltegravir and lopinavir as high confidence hits. Strikingly, our top hits emetine and lopinavir were independently validated by recent experimental findings that these compounds inhibit the growth of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.
conclusionsOur results provide systems biology support for using BCG and small-molecule BCG mimics as putative vaccine and drug candidates against emergent viruses including SARS-CoV-2.
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What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.