Novel Inhibitor of HIV Replication
SUMMARY
UCLA researchers in the David Geffen School of Medicine have discovered a new small molecule inhibitor for HIV-1 replication.
BACKGROUND
Virus-borne diseases represent a significant proportion of infectious diseases worldwide. These diseases, including HIV the virus that causes AIDS which affect millions of people, and are often life-threatening, and have enormous economic impacts; the global market for HIV is estimated at ~$11 billion. Thus, drugs targeting a broad spectrum of viral types would have enormous market potential. However, almost all of the commercially available therapies are specific for particular viruses. The few broad-spectrum drugs are effective only against a limited number of viral types. They can also cause debilitating side effects, limiting the dosages to suboptimal levels. A broad spectrum antiviral therapy is essentially absent in the current marketplace, and few broad-spectrum antivirals are past the preclinical stage. Therapeutic approaches to treat a wide range of pathogenic viruses are therefore highly desirable.
INNOVATION
UCLA researchers led by Profs. Paul Krogstad and Jun Zuo have identified a novel small molecule inhibitor of HIV-1 replication, as well as a broad spectrum anti-viral for the treatment of a variety of enteroviruses. Additionally this molecule is structurally unrelated to current antiviral therapeutics, and potentially utilizes a novel mechanism of action, and may be useful for variants of HIV that are resistant to current therapies.
APPLICATIONS
- Treatment for HIV-1 infection
- Treatment for a variety of enterovirus infections
- Maybe used to treat drug-resistant variants of HIV-1 infection
ADVANTAGES
- Structurally unrelated to current anti-viral therapies
- Has potent broad spectrum antiviral activity (e.g. treatment of HIV and various enteroviruses)
- May act through a potentially novel mechanism of action
STATE OF DEVELOPMENT
Researchers have tested this inhibitor in models of HIV-1 and enterovirus infection.
RELATED MATERIALS
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015 Dec 28;60(3):1615-26. doi: 10.1128/AAC.02646-15. Discovery of Structurally Diverse Small-Molecule Compounds with Broad Antiviral Activity against Enteroviruses. Zuo J, Kye S, Quinn KK, Cooper P, Damoiseaux R, Krogstad P.