Do the omeprazole family compounds exert a protective effect against influenza-like illness?

Abstract

BackgroundInfections by influenza viruses place a heavy burden on public health and economies worldwide. Although vaccines are the best weapons against influenza, antiviral drugs could offer an opportunity to alleviate the burden of influenza. Since omeprazole family compounds block the “proton pump”, we hypothesized that they could interfere with the mechanism of fusion of the virus envelope and endosomal membrane, thereby hindering the M2 proton pump mechanism of influenza viruses.MethodsA matched case-control study was performed in 2010-2011 in Italy. Cases were subjects aged over 18 years with a diagnosis of Influenza-like Illness (ILI); 254 case-control pairs were recruited. A multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the prevention of ILI and the administration of omeprazole family compounds. The interaction between omeprazole family compounds and influenza vaccination was also examined.ResultsAfter control for potential confounders, subjects treated with omeprazole family compounds displayed a lower risk of catching ILI (ORadj = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.15-0.52). The risk of ILI in unvaccinated non-OFC users was about six times than that in vaccinated OFC users.ConclusionsAlthough confirmation is necessary, these results suggest that omeprazole family compounds could be profitably used in the prevention of ILI.

Antiviral therapies against Ebola and other emerging viral diseases using existing medicines that block virus entry

“…Inhibition of influenza virus entry to cells by means of inhibiting acidification of endosomes has been known for decades 63 , although no current antivirals for influenza have been licensed on this basis. Some epidemiological evidence from population studies suggests that OM could exert a protective effect against influenza-like-illness 64 , but our studies suggest that doses required for potent inhibition might be difficult to achieve without significant toxicity. Despite these drugs being readily available, even without prescription in some countries, the licensed dosing would generate a plasma concentration reportedly 1.59–9.61µM for ESOM that falls short of the IC 50 calculated in this study, although higher doses have been used clinically 65 .…”

Docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulations in Potential Drugs Discovery: An Application to Influenza Virus M2 Protein

“…Recently, to test this hypothesis, we carried out a matched case-control study which showed that subjects treated with OFC displayed a lower risk of catching Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) (adjusted odd ratio = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.15-0.52), whilst this risk was about six times higher in unvaccinated non-OFC users (Gasparini et al, 2014).…”