BECN1 and COVID-19: In fact, a recent pre-print study that we mentioned above has investigated the use of spermidine (an autophagy inducer), MK-2206 (an AKT inhibitor), and niclosamide (a Beclin-1 stabilizer) in the treatment of COVID-19, and has been found to demonstrate some therapeutic benefits as an antiviral treatment against the virus [138].