Issue 1, 2015

Antiviral drug discovery: broad-spectrum drugs from nature

Abstract

Covering: up to April 2014

The development of drugs with broad-spectrum antiviral activities is a long pursued goal in drug discovery. It has been shown that blocking co-opted host-factors abrogates the replication of many viruses, yet the development of such host-targeting drugs has been met with scepticism mainly due to toxicity issues and poor translation to in vivo models. With the advent of new and more powerful screening assays and prediction tools, the idea of a drug that can efficiently treat a wide range of viral infections by blocking specific host functions has re-bloomed. Here we critically review the state-of-the-art in broad-spectrum antiviral drug discovery. We discuss putative targets and treatment strategies, with particular focus on natural products as promising starting points for antiviral lead development.

Graphical abstract: Antiviral drug discovery: broad-spectrum drugs from nature

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
18 juin 2014
First published
15 oct. 2014

Nat. Prod. Rep., 2015,32, 29-48

Antiviral drug discovery: broad-spectrum drugs from nature

J. P. Martinez, F. Sasse, M. Brönstrup, J. Diez and A. Meyerhans, Nat. Prod. Rep., 2015, 32, 29 DOI: 10.1039/C4NP00085D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements