Antiviral activity of nordihydroguaiaretic acid and its derivative tetra-O-methyl nordihydroguaiaretic acid against West Nile virus and Zika virus.

Antiviral activity of nordihydroguaiaretic acid and its derivative tetra-O-methyl nordihydroguaiaretic acid against West Nile virus and Zika virus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017 May 15;: Authors: Merino-Ramos T, Jiménez de Oya N, Saiz JC, Martín-Acebes MA Abstract Flaviviruses are positive strand RNA viruses distributed all over the world that infect millions of people every year, and for which no specific antiviral agents have been approved. These viruses include the mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) responsible for outbreaks of meningitis and encephalitis. Considering that nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) has been previously shown to inhibit the multiplication of the related dengue virus and hepatitis C virus, we have evaluated the effect of NDGA, and its methylated derivative tetra-O-methyl nordihydroguaiaretic (M4N), on the infection of WNV. Both compounds inhibited the infection of WNV likely by impairing viral replication. Since flavivirus multiplication is highly dependent on host cell lipid metabolism, the antiviral effect of NDGA has been previously related to its ability to disturb the lipid metabolism probably by interfering with the sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP) pathway. Remarkably, we observed that other structurally unrelated inhibitors of the SREBP pathway, such as PF-429242 and Fatostatin, also reduced WNV multiplication, supporting that the SREBP pathway could constitute a druggable targ...
Source: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Source Type: research