Drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 are in desperate need world-wide. A rapid drug discovery platform that can help identify drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 is essential for identifying viable treatments.
 
Based on a joint research effort, Applied Biology and Brown University researchers concluded that the androgen receptor may be implicated in COVID-19 mortality risk. Therefore, human type II pneumocytes androgen sensitivity should be tested as a potential treatment marker. The team led by Carlos Wambier, director of cosmetic research at the department of dermatology of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Andy Goren, chief medical officer at Applied Biology and medical advisor to the department of dermatology of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University along with a team of collaborators from other institutions submitted their discovery to publication in the medical journal Dermatologic Therapy (DOI: 10.1111/dth.13365).
 
“We believe that androgens are required for the expression of the serine protease TMPRSS2,” said Dr. Wambier. “This proteolytic priming of the spikes of the coronavirus is the first step required for binding to the ACE2 receptor in cells. Male hormones might also affect ACE2 receptor expression in lung cells. To the best of our knowledge these are required for the novel coronavirus to infect humans.”
 
According to Dr. Goren, said, “Testing androgen sensitivity along with ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression provides a rapid method to assess the effectiveness of drug candidates in inhibiting the cellular entry of COVID-19.”