====== ATN-161 ====== ATN 161 is a [[Alpha-5 beta-1]] integrin receptor antagonist. ---- ATN-161, is beneficial in a mouse model of [[ischemic stroke]] through reduction of infarct volume, [[edema]], stabilization of the BBB, and reduced inflammation and immune cell infiltration into the brain. In continuation with our previous findings, we have further evaluated the mechanistic role of ATN-161 in vitro and found that oxygen and glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, mitochondrial depolarization, and fibrosis attenuate tight junction integrity via induction of α5, NLRP3, p-FAK, and p-AKT signaling in mouse brain endothelial cells. ATN-161 treatment (10 µM) effectively inhibited OGD/R-induced extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition by reducing integrin α5, MMP-9, and fibronectin expression, as well as reducing oxidative stress by reducing mitochondrial superoxide radicals, intracellular ROS, inflammation by reducing NLRP3 inflammasome, tight junction loss by reducing claudin-5 and ZO-1 expression levels, mitochondrial damage by inhibiting mitochondrial depolarization, and apoptosis via regulation of p-FAK and p-AKT levels. Taken together, our results further support therapeutically targeting α5 integrin with ATN-161, a safe, well-tolerated, and clinically validated peptide, in ischemic stroke ((Amruta N, Bix G. ATN-161 Ameliorates Ischemia/Reperfusion-induced Oxidative Stress, Fibro-inflammation, Mitochondrial damage, and Apoptosis-mediated Tight Junction Disruption in bEnd.3 Cells. Inflammation. 2021 Aug 22. doi: 10.1007/s10753-021-01509-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34420157.)). ---- Many efforts to design and screen therapeutics for the current severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic have focused on inhibiting viral host cell entry by disrupting angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) binding with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This work focuses on the potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry through a hypothesized α5β1 integrin-based mechanism and indicates that inhibiting the spike protein interaction with α5β1 integrin (+/- ACE2) and the interaction between α5β1 integrin and ACE2 using a novel molecule (ATN-161) represents a promising approach to treat coronavirus disease-19 ((Beddingfield BJ, Iwanaga N, Chapagain PP, Zheng W, Roy CJ, Hu TY, Kolls JK, Bix GJ. The Integrin Binding Peptide, ATN-161, as a Novel Therapy for SARS-CoV-2 Infection. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2021 Jan;6(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2020.10.003. Epub 2020 Oct 16. PMID: 33102950; PMCID: PMC7566794.)).