ArticleCell discovery2020
Heparan sulfate assists SARS-CoV-2 in cell entry and can be targeted by approved drugs in vitro.
Article in Cell discovery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 171 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
171 citing papers in PubMed, 241 citations in OpenAlex.
- Identification of Prohibitin (PHB) as an Entry Factor of Highly Pathogenic Coronaviruses Using Metabolic Glycoengineering and Photo-Crosslinking Techniques.Emerging microbes & infections · 2026Article
- The essential role of heparan sulfate in the entry of PDCoV and other porcine coronaviruses.Virulence · 2026Article
- Targeting virus-glycan recognition in influenza viruses and coronaviruses: from the molecular principles to glycomimetic antivirals strategies.RSC chemical biology · 2026Review
- Sea nettle jellyfish venom targets proteoglycans to cause cell death and pain.Science advances · 2026Article
- Nanoscopy reveals heparan sulfate clusters as docking sites for SARS-CoV-2 attachment and entry.eLife · 2026Article
- Repurposing screens reveal a role for PKCη and NF1 in SARS-CoV-2 infection.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Dual engagement of Spike and ACE2 by annexin A5 contributes to pleiotropic SARS-CoV-2 inhibition.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- RepurNet: A network medicine framework for systematic drug repurposing and disease vulnerability discovery.iScience · 2026Article
- Tilorone suppresses TGF-β-driven fibroblast activation and restores BMP-Smad1/5/8 signaling: implications for laryngotracheal fibrosis.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Heparan sulfate as an attachment factor for ASFV is restricted by host HB-EGF.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- Deep Learning-Guided Discovery of Dual Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Entry and 3CL Protease.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cell entry mechanisms of porcine enteric coronaviruses.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Review
- Host Glycan-Lectin Interplay in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Role of Enoxaparin in Influenza Virus Infections and its Therapeutic Implications.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Glycosaminoglycans and Their Role in Capillary Walls.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- The Biological Role of Enveloped Virus Glycosylation and Its Interactions with Antiviral Lectins.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Heparin-Binding Proteins in the Nanoparticle Corona Enhance Cellular Uptake through Glycocalyx Interactions.ACS nano · 2025Article
- The Role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Pathogenesis, and Antiviral Interventions.Journal of medical virology · 2025Review
- Optimized arenaviruses with tumor-tropic mutations promote safe anti-tumor efficacy via sustainable immune modulatory properties.Cell reports. Medicine · 2025Article
- Molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 entry: implications for biomedical strategies.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
111 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as an attractive drug repurposing target for COVID-19. Here we combine genetics and chemical perturbation to demonstrate that ACE2-mediated entry of SARS-Cov and CoV-2 requires the cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) as an assisting cofactor: ablation of genes involved in HS biosynthesis or incubating cells with a HS mimetic both inhibit Spike-mediated viral entry. We show that heparin/HS binds to Spike directly, and facilitates the attachment of Spike-bearing viral particles to the cell surface to promote viral entry. We screened approved drugs and identified two classes of inhibitors that act via distinct mechanisms to target this entry pathway. Among the drugs characterized, Mitoxantrone is a potent HS inhibitor, while Sunitinib and BNTX disrupt the actin network to indirectly abrogate HS-assisted viral entry. We further show that drugs of the two classes can be combined to generate a synergized activity against SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect. Altogether, our study establishes HS as an attachment factor that assists SARS coronavirus cell entry and reveals drugs capable of targeting this important step in the viral life cycle.
Identifiers
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.