2. Academic Validation
  3. Fludarabine Inhibits Infection of Zika Virus, SFTS Phlebovirus, and Enterovirus A71

Fludarabine Inhibits Infection of Zika Virus, SFTS Phlebovirus, and Enterovirus A71

  • Viruses. 2021 Apr 27;13(5):774. doi: 10.3390/v13050774.
Chengfeng Gao 1,  Chunxia Wen 1,  Zhifeng Li 2,  Shuhan Lin 1,  Shu Gao 1,  Haida Ding 1,  Peng Zou 3,  Zheng Xing 1 4,  Yufeng Yu 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
  • 2 Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Acute Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210009, China.
  • 3 Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China.
  • 4 Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
PMID: 33925713 DOI: 10.3390/v13050774
Abstract

Viral infections are one of the leading causes in human mortality and disease. Broad-spectrum Antiviral drugs are a powerful weapon against new and re-emerging viruses. However, viral resistance to existing broad-spectrum antivirals remains a challenge, which demands development of new broad-spectrum therapeutics. In this report, we showed that fludarabine, a fluorinated purine analogue, effectively inhibited Infection of RNA viruses, including Zika virus, Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, and Enterovirus A71, with all IC50 values below 1 μM in Vero, BHK21, U251 MG, and HMC3 cells. We observed that fludarabine has shown cytotoxicity to these cells only at high doses indicating it could be safe for future clinical use if approved. In conclusion, this study suggests that fludarabine could be developed as a potential broad-spectrum anti-RNA virus therapeutic agent.

Keywords

Enterovirus A71; Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus; Zika virus; antiviral drugs; fludarabine.

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