SARS CoV-2 Replication and Neoplasm Pathogenesis Attributed to Guanylate kinase 1: Could it be A New Horizon for Pharmacotherapeutics?

A recent study has suggested that guanylate kinase 1 (GK1) plays a crucial role in SARS CoV-2 replication and recommended to test GK 1 inhibitors for invitro experiments and previous studies have suggested a role in the pathogenesis of some neoplasms. We are providing a concise strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of this study while discussing guanylate kinase physiological function, pharmacological importance. Importantly, we suggest that though this hypothesis might prove valid, the available experimental GK 1 inhibitors might not, at least for the short term, be safely used to manage COVID-19. Moreover, we recommend conducting genetic, physiological, and immunological studies to explore the long-term potentials of GK-1 inhibitors suggesting they might eventually lead to a new horizon of both COVID-19 and cancer pharmacotherapeutics.