Despite encouraging progresses achieved in the management of viral diseases, efficient strategies to counteract infections are still required. The current global challenge highlighted the need to develop a rapid and cost-effective strategy to counteract the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Lipid metabolism plays a crucial role in viral infections. Viruses can use the host lipid machinery to support their life cycle and to impair the host immune response. The altered expression of mevalonate pathway-related genes, induced by several viruses, assures survival and spread in host tissue. In some infections, statins, HMG-CoA-reductase inhibitors, reduce cholesterol in the plasma membrane of permissive cells resulting in lower viral titers and failure to internalize the virus. Statins can also counteract viral infections through their immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects. Beyond statins, interfering with the mevalonate pathway could have an adjuvant effect in therapies aimed at mitigating endothelial dysfunction and deregulated inflammation in viral infection.

In this review we depicted the historical and current evidence highlighting how lipid homeostasis and mevalonate pathway targeting represents a valid approach to rapidly neutralize viruses, focusing our attention to their potential use as effective targets to hinder SARS-CoV-2 morbidity and mortality.

Pros and cons of statins and Mevalonate-pathway inhibitors have been also dissected.

尽管在病毒性疾病的管理方面取得了令人鼓舞的进展，但仍然需要有效的策略来对抗感染。当前的全球挑战凸显了制定快速且具有成本效益的战略来应对 SARS-CoV-2 大流行的必要性。

脂质代谢在病毒感染中起着至关重要的作用。病毒可以利用宿主脂质机制来支持其生命周期并损害宿主免疫反应。由几种病毒诱导的甲羟戊酸途径相关基因表达的改变确保了宿主组织中的存活和传播。在某些感染中，他汀类药物（HMG-CoA 还原酶抑制剂）会减少允许细胞质膜中的胆固醇，从而导致病毒滴度降低并且无法内化病毒。他汀类药物还可以通过其免疫调节、抗炎和抗血栓作用来对抗病毒感染。除了他汀类药物之外，干扰甲羟戊酸途径还可以在旨在减轻病毒感染中内皮功能障碍和失调炎症的治疗中产生辅助作用。

在这篇综述中，我们描述了历史和当前的证据，强调脂质稳态和甲羟戊酸途径靶向如何成为快速中和病毒的有效方法，将我们的注意力集中在它们作为降低 SARS-CoV-2 发病率和死亡率的有效靶点的潜在用途。

他汀类药物和甲羟戊酸途径抑制剂的优缺点也已被剖析。