Targeting hub genes and pathways of innate immune response in COVID-19: A network biology perspective.
PMID 32599245 | PMCID PMC7319641 | DOI 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.06.228 · International journal of biological macromolecules · 2020 · View on PubMed ↗
The current pandemic of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel virus strain, 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2 have posed a serious threat to global public health and economy. It is largely unknown how the human immune system responds to this infection. A better understanding of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 will be important to develop therapeutics against COVID-19. Here, we have used transcriptomic profile of human alveolar adenocarcinoma cells (A549) infected with SARS-CoV-2 and employed a network biology approach to generate human-virus interactome. Network topological analysis discovers 15 SARS-CoV-2 targets, which belongs to a subset of interferon (IFN) stimulated genes (ISGs). These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19. We have identified significant interaction between ISGs and TLR3 agonists, like poly I: C, and imiquimod, and suggests that TLR3 agonists can be considered as a potential drug for drug repurposing in COVID-19. Our network centric analysis suggests that moderating the innate immune response is a valuable approach to target COVID-19.
Validated evidence
| Type | Entity | Source evidence | Confidence | Extractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gene | IFIT1 | “These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| gene | IFITM1 | “These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| gene | IRF7 | “These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| gene | ISG15 | “These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| gene | OAS2 | “These ISGs (IFIT1, IFITM1, IRF7, ISG15, MX1, and OAS2) can be considered as potential candidates for drug targets in the treatments of COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| gene | TLR3 | “We have identified significant interaction between ISGs and TLR3 agonists, like poly I: C, and imiquimod, and suggests that TLR3 agonists can be considered as a potential drug for drug repurposing in COVID-19.” | 0.98 | hgnc_dict_v1 |
| phenotype | COVID-19 | “Targeting hub genes and pathways of innate immune response in COVID-19: A network biology perspective.” | 0.98 | phenotype_alias_lexicon_v2 |