Vial, CeciliaCalderón, Juan FranciscoKlein, Andrés2021-08-172021-08-172020Current Molecular Medicine, 2020, 20: 1-3https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1566524020666200713175426http://hdl.handle.net/11447/4342The COVID-19 plague is hitting mankind. Several viruses, including SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, EBOV, and SARS-CoV-2, use the endocytic machinery to enter the cell. Genomic variants in NPC1, which encodes for the endo-lysosomal Niemann-Pick type C1 protein, restricts the host-range of viruses in bats and susceptibility to infections in humans. Lack of NPC1 and its pharmacological suppression inhibits many viral infections including SARS-CoV-1 and Type I Feline Coronavirus Infection. Antiviral effects of NPC1-inhibiting drugs for COVID-19 treatment should be explored.enCOVID-19SARS-Cov-2Niemann-Pick C1Modifier geneDrug repurposingVirusInfectionArticle