Screening Bioactives Reveals Nanchangmycin as a Broad Spectrum Antiviral Active against Zika Virus

Publication date: 17 January 2017
Source:Cell Reports, Volume 18, Issue 3
Author(s): Keiko Rausch, Brent A. Hackett, Nathan L. Weinbren, Sophia M. Reeder, Yoel Sadovsky, Christopher A. Hunter, David C. Schultz, Carolyn B. Coyne, Sara Cherry
Zika virus is an emerging arthropod-borne flavivirus for which there are no vaccines or specific therapeutics. We screened a library of 2,000 bioactive compounds for their ability to block Zika virus infection in three distinct cell types with two different strains of Zika virus. Using a microscopy-based assay, we validated 38 drugs that inhibited Zika virus infection, including FDA-approved nucleoside analogs. Cells expressing high levels of the attachment factor AXL can be protected from infection with receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, while placental-derived cells that lack AXL expression are insensitive to this inhibition. Importantly, we identified nanchangmycin as a potent inhibitor of Zika virus entry across all cell types tested, including physiologically relevant primary cells. Nanchangmycin also was active against other medically relevant viruses, including West Nile, dengue, and chikungunya viruses that use a similar route of entry. This study provides a resource of small molecules to study Zika virus pathogenesis.

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Teaser

Rausch et al. screened a library of 2,000 bioactive compounds in three relevant cell types to identify molecules that can inhibit Zika virus. They identify 38 active drugs and focus on nanchangmycin, which is a broad spectrum inhibitor that blocks viral entry.


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