Department of Neurosurgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India.
Bioengineered. 2021 Dec;12(2):9550-9560. doi: 10.1080/21655979.2021.1997261.
Biosurfactants are natural surfactants produced by a variety of microorganisms. In recent years, biosurfactants have garnered a lot of interest due to their biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Sophorolipids are glycolipid types of biosurfactants produced by selected nonpathogenic yeasts. In addition to the detergent activity (reduction in surface and interfacial tension), which is commonly utilized by biomedical applications, sophorolipids have shown some unique properties such as, antiviral activity against enveloped viruses, immunomodulation, and anticancer activity. Considering their antiviral activity, the potential of sophorolipids as an antiviral therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 is discussed in this review. Being a surfactant molecule, sophorolipid could solubilize the lipid envelope of SARS-CoV-2 and inactivate it. As an immunomodulator, sophorolipid could attenuate the cytokine storm caused by the SARS-CoV-2 upon infection, and inhibit the progression of COVID-19 in patients. Sophorolipids could also be used as an effective treatment strategy for COVID-19 patients suffering from cancer. However, there is limited research on the use of sophorolipid as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases, and to modulate the immune response. Nevertheless, the multitasking capabilities of sophorolipids make them potential therapeutic candidates for the bench-to-bedside research for the treatment of COVID-19.
生物表面活性剂是由各种微生物产生的天然表面活性剂。近年来，由于其在生物医学和药物方面的应用，生物表面活性剂引起了广泛关注。槐糖脂是由选定的非致病性酵母产生的糖脂类生物表面活性剂。除了生物医学应用中常用的清洁剂活性（降低表面和界面张力）外，槐糖脂还表现出一些独特的特性，如抗包膜病毒、免疫调节和抗癌活性。鉴于其抗病毒活性，本文讨论了槐糖脂作为 COVID-19 治疗的抗病毒疗法的潜力。作为一种表面活性剂分子，槐糖脂可以溶解 SARS-CoV-2 的脂质包膜并使其失活。作为一种免疫调节剂，槐糖脂可以减轻 SARS-CoV-2 感染引起的细胞因子风暴，并抑制 COVID-19 患者的病情进展。槐糖脂也可用于治疗患有癌症的 COVID-19 患者。然而，关于槐糖脂作为治疗癌症和病毒疾病以及调节免疫反应的治疗剂的应用研究有限。尽管如此，槐糖脂的多功能特性使它们成为治疗 COVID-19 的从实验室到病床的研究的潜在治疗候选物。
