No abstract

ABSTRACTNo antiviral drugs currently exist for the treatment of enterovirus infections, which are often severe and potentially life threatening. Molecular screening of small molecule libraries identified fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, as a potent inhibitor of coxsackievirus replication. Fluoxetine did not interfere with either viral entry or translation of the viral genome. Instead, fluoxetine and its metabolite norfluoxetine markedly reduced the synthesis of viral RNA and protein. In view of its favorable pharmacokinetics and safety profile, fluoxetine warrants additional study as a potential antiviral agent for enterovirus infections.

'War', said the seven-year-old, 'is to do with "Goodies" and "Baddies", and it's all right to make War so long as you don't start it first. A "Goodie" is someone who does not start a War, he just joins in — if he didn't, he would be nothing.' To which his mate adds, 'Come on lazy-bones, it's only a fight — not the end of the world'.

No abstract

Antiviral drugs do not currently exist for the treatment of enterovirus infections, which are often severe and potentially lifethreatening. We conducted high-throughput molecular screening and identified a structurally diverse set of compounds that inhibit the replication of coxsackievirus B3, a commonly encountered enterovirus. These compounds did not interfere with the function of the viral internal ribosome entry site or with the activity of the viral proteases, but they did drastically reduce the synthesis of viral RNA and viral proteins in infected cells. Sequence analysis of compound-resistant mutants suggests that the viral 2C protein is targeted by most of these compounds. These compounds demonstrated antiviral activity against a panel of the most commonly encountered enteroviruses and thus represent potential leads for the development of broad-spectrum anti-enteroviral drugs.