Novel and Repurposed Antiviral Agents, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 576

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung 404328, Taiwan
Interests: viral pathogenesis; antiviral agents; viral diagnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory Science in Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
Interests: viral pathogenesis and immunology; enterovirus; antiviral agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue “Novel and Repurposed Antiviral Agents”.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 represents a significant threat for humanity. It is therefore an urgent and unmet need to search for antiviral therapeutics to fight against SARS-CoV-2. Re-positioning existing antiviral agents and screening their broad-spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 is pivotal. In addition to COVID-19, many epidemic viral diseases, such as influenza, dengue, Zika, Ebola, and Western/Eastern equine encephalitis, do not yet have effective therapies. Therefore, there are very few currently available drugs to control such virulent virus infections.

Developing novel and repurposed antiviral agents is a priority for treating epidemic diseases of emerging and re-emerging viruses. Targeting viral infectivity and modulating host defense systems are recognized as the main approaches to develop direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and host-targeting agents (HTAs). The antiviral mechanisms of antiviral candidates should be extensively analyzed among different types of viral diseases. This Special Issue will serve as a platform for the study of DAAs and HTAs, facilitating the re-positioning of existing agents, herbal components, synthesized compounds, and genetic engineering molecules. We aim to explore the abilities of repurposed antiviral agents in the hope that they may become more promising for controlling future viral epidemics.

Prof. Dr. Cheng-Wen Lin
Dr. Szu-Hao Kung
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antiviral agent
  • repurposed drug
  • emerging virus
  • direct-acting antiviral
  • host-targeting agent
  • molecular mechanism

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 3926 KiB  
Article
Novel Anti-Viral Properties of the Herbal Extract of Davallia mariesii against Influenza A Virus
by Yu-Li Chen, Pei-Yu Chao, Chung-Fan Hsieh, Pei-Wen Hsieh and Jim-Tong Horng
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 523; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040523 - 28 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Gu-Sui-Bu, the dried rhizome of Davallia mariesii, is a traditional Chinese herbal remedy with a significant history of treating osteoporosis and inflammatory conditions. However, its potential as an anti-influenza agent and its underlying mechanisms of action remain unexplored. To obtain a more [...] Read more.
Gu-Sui-Bu, the dried rhizome of Davallia mariesii, is a traditional Chinese herbal remedy with a significant history of treating osteoporosis and inflammatory conditions. However, its potential as an anti-influenza agent and its underlying mechanisms of action remain unexplored. To obtain a more potent extract from D. mariesii and gain insights into its mechanism of action against influenza A virus (IAV), we utilized a partitioning process involving organic solvents and water, resulting in the isolation of butanolic subfractions of the D. mariesii extract (DMBE). DMBE exhibited a broad anti-viral spectrum, effectively inhibiting IAV, with an EC50 of 24.32 ± 6.19 µg/mL and a selectivity index of 6.05. We subsequently conducted a series of in vitro assays to evaluate the antiviral effects of DMBE and to uncover its mechanisms of action. DMBE was found to inhibit IAV during the early stages of infection by hindering the attachment of the virus onto and its penetration into host cells. Importantly, DMBE was observed to hinder IAV-mediated cell–cell fusion. It also inhibited neuraminidase activity, plaque size, and the expression levels of phospho-AKT. In summary, this study provides evidence for the effectiveness of D. mariesii as a complementary and alternative herbal remedy against IAV. Specifically, our data highlight DMBE’s capabilities in inhibiting viral entry and the release of virions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel and Repurposed Antiviral Agents, 2nd Edition)
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