Exploring the SARS-CoV-2 virus-host-drug interactome for drug repurposing

Sadegh, Sepideh; Matschinske, Julian; Blumenthal, David B.; Galindez, Gihanna; Kacprowski, Tim; List, Markus; Nasirigerdeh, Reza; Oubounyt, Mhaned; Pichlmair, Andreas; Rose, Tim Daniel; Salgado-Albarrán, Marisol; Späth, Julian; Stukalov, Alexey; Wenke, Nina K.; Yuan, Kevin; Pauling, Josch K.; Baumbach, Jan

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Various studies exist about the molecular mechanisms of viral infection. However, such information is spread across many publications and it is very time-consuming to integrate, and exploit. We develop CoVex, an interactive online platform for SARS-CoV-2 host interactome exploration and drug (target) identification. CoVex integrates virus-human protein interactions, human protein-protein interactions, and drug-target interactions. It allows visual exploration of the virus-host interactome and implements systems medicine algorithms for network-based prediction of drug candidates. Thus, CoVex is a resource to understand molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and to prioritize candidate therapeutics. We investigate recent hypotheses on a systems biology level to explore mechanistic virus life cycle drivers, and to extract drug repurposing candidates. CoVex renders COVID-19 drug research systems-medicine-ready by giving the scientific community direct access to network medicine algorithms. It is available at https://exbio.wzw.tum.de/covex/.