Host-Directed Antiviral Therapy.

Host-Directed Antiviral Therapy. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2020 Jun 17;33(3): Authors: Kumar N, Sharma S, Kumar R, Tripathi BN, Barua S, Ly H, Rouse BT Abstract SUMMARYAntiviral drugs have traditionally been developed by directly targeting essential viral components. However, this strategy often fails due to the rapid generation of drug-resistant viruses. Recent genome-wide approaches, such as those employing small interfering RNA (siRNA) or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) or those using small molecule chemical inhibitors targeting the cellular "kinome," have been used successfully to identify cellular factors that can support virus replication. Since some of these cellular factors are critical for virus replication, but are dispensable for the host, they can serve as novel targets for antiviral drug development. In addition, potentiation of immune responses, regulation of cytokine storms, and modulation of epigenetic changes upon virus infections are also feasible approaches to control infections. Because it is less likely that viruses will mutate to replace missing cellular functions, the chance of generating drug-resistant mutants with host-targeted inhibitor approaches is minimized. However, drug resistance against some host-directed agents can, in fact, occur under certain circumstances, such as long-term selection pressure of a host-directed antiviral agent that can allow the virus the opportunity t...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Reviews - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Clin Microbiol Rev Source Type: research