An Overview of SARS-CoV-2 Potential Targets, Inhibitors, and Computational Insights to Enrich the Promising Treatment Strategies

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has emphasized the urgent need for effective therapies to combat COVID-19. Investigating the potential targets, inhibitors, and in silico approaches pertinent to COVID-19 are of utmost need to develop novel therapeutic agents and reprofiling of existing FDA-approved drugs. This article reviews the viral enzymes and their counter receptors involved in the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells, replication of genomic RNA, and controlling the host cell physiology. In addition, the study provides an overview of the computational techniques such as docking simulations, molecular dynamics, QSAR modeling, and homology modeling that have been used to find the FDA-approved drugs and other inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, a comprehensive overview of virus-based and host-based druggable targets from a structural point of view, together with the reported therapeutic compounds against SARS-CoV-2 have also been presented. The current study offers future perspectives for research in the field of network pharmacology investigating the large unexplored molecular libraries. Overall, the present in-depth review aims to expedite the process of identifying and repurposing drugs for researchers involved in the field of COVID-19 drug discovery.