Insights into the Mechanisms of action of Chloroquine and
Hydroxychloroquine and its use in COVID-19 for chemoprophylaxis
Abstract
The global outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by
the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2/2019-nCoV) has put forth a serious threat to the
international public health and has ruined the global economy. Till
date, no drugs have been approved for Coronavirus Disease-2019
(COVID-19), although use of some drugs in trial phase has been
attempted. The drugs being used for management of COVID-19 disease
include chloroquine (CQ), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and remdesivir. In
this article, we have aimed to review existing literature and mechanism
by which CQ and HCQ have an effect on COVID-19, most importantly by
interfering with autophagy, lysosomal activity, receptor binding and
membrane fusion. We have systematically searched the PubMed database
upto April, 2020 and analysed all the articles published on CQ, HCQ and
COVID-19. The available data provides insights into the immunomodulatory
potency of HCQ, along with the molecular mechanism of action of the drug
on the SARS-CoV-2.