ArticlePLoS pathogens2021
Ethacridine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 by inactivating viral particles.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent Advances in the Design of Inhibitors Targeting the Viral Entry and Replication of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, Driven by In Silico Approaches.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Cross-resistance patterns in SARS-CoV-2 against 3CL protease inhibitors.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Protein Engineering for Spatiotemporally Resolved Cellular Monitoring.Annual review of analytical chemistry (Palo Alto, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Tannic Acid and Ethacridine Lactate Attenuate Markers of Stress-Induced Intestinal Barrier Dysfunctions in Murine Small Intestinal Organoids.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Mechanism by which porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus disrupts host innate immunity.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Molecular Spies in Action: Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Biosensors Light up Cellular Signals.Chemical reviews · 2024Review
- An automated positive selection screen in yeast provides support for boron-containing compounds as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Drug repurposing screen to identify inhibitors of the RNA polymerase (nsp12) and helicase (nsp13) from SARS-CoV-2 replication and transcription complex.Virus research · 2024Article
- Structure and function of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 main proteases and their inhibition: A comprehensive review.European journal of medicinal chemistry · 2023Review
- Article
- A low-background, fluorescent assay to evaluate inhibitors of diverse viral proteases.Journal of virology · 2023Article
- Identifying SARS-CoV-2 Drugs Binding to the Spike Fatty Acid Binding Pocket Using In Silico Docking and Molecular Dynamics.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- EPAC1 Pharmacological Inhibition with AM-001 Prevents SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus Replication in Cells.Viruses · 2023Article
- Fluorogenic reporter enables identification of compounds that inhibit SARS-CoV-2.Nature microbiology · 2023Article
- Dual-Reporter System for Real-Time Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Activity in Live Cells Enables Identification of an Allosteric Inhibition Path.ACS bio & med chem Au · 2022Article
- Repurposing of HIV/HCV protease inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 3CLAntiviral research · 2022Article
- Article
- Venetoclax Decreases the Expression of the Spike Protein through Amino Acids Q493 and S494 in SARS-CoV-2.Cells · 2022Article
- Progress and Challenges in Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Papain-like Protease.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2022Review
- Drug-Repurposing Screening Identified Tropifexor as a SARS-CoV-2 Papain-like Protease Inhibitor.ACS infectious diseases · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The respiratory disease COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Here we report the discovery of ethacridine as a potent drug against SARS-CoV-2 (EC50 ~ 0.08 μM). Ethacridine was identified via high-throughput screening of an FDA-approved drug library in living cells using a fluorescence assay. Plaque assays, RT-PCR and immunofluorescence imaging at various stages of viral infection demonstrate that the main mode of action of ethacridine is through inactivation of viral particles, preventing their binding to the host cells. Consistently, ethacridine is effective in various cell types, including primary human nasal epithelial cells that are cultured in an air-liquid interface. Taken together, our work identifies a promising, potent, and new use of the old drug via a distinct mode of action for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2.
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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.