2. Academic Validation
  3. Host-Directed Antiviral Activity of SB2960 Through Selective Induction and Remodeling of Stress Granules

Host-Directed Antiviral Activity of SB2960 Through Selective Induction and Remodeling of Stress Granules

  • Adv Sci (Weinh). 2026 Feb;13(12):e12972. doi: 10.1002/advs.202512972.
Wan Gi Byun 1,  Sumin Son 1,  JinAh Lee 2,  Minha Lee 1,  Meehyun Ko 2,  Songrui Zhao 3,  Ju Hee Kim 4,  Kannan Vaithegi 1,  Ji Hoon Kwon 1,  Jung Ho Lee 5,  Sangeun Jeon 2,  Dawon Yi 5,  Peng Zou 3,  Seungtaek Kim 2,  Seung Bum Park 1 4 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 CRI Center for Chemical Proteomics, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea.
  • 2 Zoonotic Virus Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam, 13488, South Korea.
  • 3 Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
  • 4 SPARK Biopharma, Inc, Seoul, 08791, South Korea.
  • 5 Department of Biophysics and Chemical Biology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea.
PMID: 41532664 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202512972
Abstract

The increasing prevalence of emerging infectious diseases highlights the urgent need for broad-spectrum Antiviral therapeutics. Here, the discovery of SB2960, a small molecule, is reported that promotes stress granule (SG) formation and exhibits potent Antiviral activity across diverse viral species. SB2960 suppresses viral replication with minimal cytotoxicity by modulating host Antiviral immune responses. Target identification studies reveal that SB2960 engages receptor for activated protein C kinase 1 (RACK1), a key regulator of SG dynamics. Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses further demonstrate that SB2960 alters the composition of SG and modulates the expression of Antiviral genes. These findings establish SB2960 as a promising host-directed broad-spectrum Antiviral agent and a valuable probe for investigating SG biology in the context of viral Infection.

Keywords

SARS‐CoV‐2; broad‐spectrum antiviral agents; stress granule; structure‐activity relationship; target identification.

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