Bergamo, January 15 – During the critical phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, studies conducted by the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research (published in eClinicalMedicine, 2021; Frontiers in Medicine, 2022; The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2023) suggested that the timely use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin, could reduce the development of severe disease and the need for hospitalization. The importance of NSAIDs in the early stages of respiratory diseases was reaffirmed by an independent study published in 2024.

In a new study by the Mario Negri Institute, recently published in Frontiers in Immunology, researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying aspirin’s effects on the structure of the “spike” protein, which enables the virus to bind to host cells.

“Our work,” comments Luca Perico, first author of the study, “has shown that aspirin concentrations comparable to those achieved in humans induce structural modifications in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that limit its ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor on epithelial cells.”
“These observations,” says Ariela Benigni, Head of Research at the Bergamo and Ranica (BG) sites, “were made in cultured cells and in experimental models, in which it was possible to document that aspirin reduces lung damage, fibrosis, and inflammation induced by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.”

“Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be taken in the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection, always following medical advice and never through self-prescription,” comments Giuseppe Remuzzi, Director of the Mario Negri Institute.

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References:

Suter F, Consolaro E, Pedroni S, Moroni C, Pastò E, Paganini MV, Pravettoni G, Cantarelli U, Rubis N, Perico N, Perna A, Peracchi T, Ruggenenti P, Remuzzi G.
A simple, home-therapy algorithm to prevent hospitalisation for COVID-19 patients: A retrospective observational matched-cohort study,
EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Jul:37:100941. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100941.

Consolaro E, Suter F, Rubis N, Pedroni S, Moroni C, Pastò E, Paganini MV, Pravettoni G, Cantarelli U, Perico N, Perna A, Peracchi T, Ruggenenti P, Remuzzi G.
A Home-Treatment Algorithm Based on Anti-inflammatory Drugs to Prevent Hospitalization of Patients With Early COVID-19: A Matched-Cohort Study (COVER 2).
Front Med. 2022 Apr 22;9:785785. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.785785.

Perico N, Cortinovis M, Suter F, Remuzzi G.
Home as the new frontier for the treatment of COVID-19: the case for anti-inflammatory agents
Lancet Infect Dis. 2023 Jan;23(1):e22-e33. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00433-9.

Bassetti M, Andreoni M, Santus P, Scaglione F.
NSAIDs for early management of acute respiratory infections.
Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2024 Aug 1;37(4):304-311. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000001024.

Perico L, Bovio A, Tomasoni S, Trionfini P, Cerullo D, Corna D, Pezzotta A, Locatelli M, Alberti M, Benigni A, Remuzzi G.
Acetylsalicylic acid disrupts SARS-CoV-2 spike protein glycosylation and selectively impairs binding to ACE2.
Front Immunol. 16:1706997. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1706997

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