Special Issue "Antivirals for Newly Emerging Viral Diseases of Global Importance"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mariana Baz
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Research Center in Infectious Diseases of the CHU of Québec and Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
Interests: influenza viruses; pathogenesis and transmission; antivirals; vaccines; high-risk populations; animal models; clinical studies; emerging and re-emerging viruses
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Edin Mifsud
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
World Health Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Peter Doherty Institute, 792 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, Australia
Interests: Influenza virus; Bacterial co-infections; transmission; antivirals; vaccines; pathogenesis; animal models; antiviral resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viral infections cause high morbidity and mortality. About 12% of known human pathogens have been recognized as either emerging or re-emerging. As evident by the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerging viruses are a major public health concern resulting in both health and economic challenges. Furthermore, the World Health Organization has listed COVID-19 along with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Ebola, Marburg, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, and Zika as diseases which pose the greatest public health risk not only because of their pandemic potential but also because of the lack of countermeasures available to limit the spread and treat the disease caused.

The limited treatment options available to combat these emerging viruses have raised the need for broad-spectrum antivirals effective against a wide range of viruses. Substantial efforts have been made to develop novel therapeutic candidates including small molecules, peptides, monoclonal antibodies, novel viral and host cell targets, drug repurposing, new antiviral agents, and innovations in drug discovery against emerging viruses.

In this Special Issue, we aim to describe the most recent discoveries in antivirals for emerging viruses of global importance. We seek contributions of original research and review articles as well as short communications.

Dr. Mariana Baz
Dr. Edin Mifsud
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 papers will be 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 2200 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

  • emerging and re-emerging viruses
  • antivirals
  • broadly acting antivirals
  • novel therapeutic strategies
  • antibodies
  • small molecules
  • drug repurposing
  • plant-derived antivirals
  • drug discovery
  • antiviral resistance
  • high-risk populations
  • animal models
  • zoonosis

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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Article
A Novel Frameshifting Inhibitor Having Antiviral Activity against Zoonotic Coronaviruses
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1639; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081639 - 18 Aug 2021
Viewed by 487
Abstract
Recent outbreaks of zoonotic coronaviruses, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have caused tremendous casualties and great economic shock. Although some repurposed drugs have shown potential therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials, specific therapeutic [...] Read more.
Recent outbreaks of zoonotic coronaviruses, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have caused tremendous casualties and great economic shock. Although some repurposed drugs have shown potential therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials, specific therapeutic agents targeting coronaviruses have not yet been developed. During coronavirus replication, a replicase gene cluster, including RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), is alternatively translated via a process called -1 programmed ribosomal frameshift (−1 PRF) by an RNA pseudoknot structure encoded in viral RNAs. The coronavirus frameshifting has been identified previously as a target for antiviral therapy. In this study, the frameshifting efficiencies of MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 were determined using an in vitro −1 PRF assay system. Our group has searched approximately 9689 small molecules to identify potential −1 PRF inhibitors. Herein, we found that a novel compound, 2-(5-acetylthiophen-2yl)furo[2,3-b]quinoline (KCB261770), inhibits the frameshifting of MERS-CoV and effectively suppresses viral propagation in MERS-CoV-infected cells. The inhibitory effects of 87 derivatives of furo[2,3-b]quinolines were also examined showing less prominent inhibitory effect when compared to compound KCB261770. We demonstrated that KCB261770 inhibits the frameshifting without suppressing cap-dependent translation. Furthermore, this compound was able to inhibit the frameshifting, to some extent, of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the novel compound 2-(5-acetylthiophen-2yl)furo[2,3-b]quinoline may serve as a promising drug candidate to interfere with pan-coronavirus frameshifting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals for Newly Emerging Viral Diseases of Global Importance)
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Article
Noble Metal Organometallic Complexes Display Antiviral Activity against SARS-CoV-2
Viruses 2021, 13(6), 980; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13060980 - 25 May 2021
Viewed by 1016
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 as a devastating viral pathogen with no available preventative or treatment to control what led to the current global pandemic. The continued spread of the virus and increasing death toll necessitate the development of effective antiviral treatments to combat [...] Read more.
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 as a devastating viral pathogen with no available preventative or treatment to control what led to the current global pandemic. The continued spread of the virus and increasing death toll necessitate the development of effective antiviral treatments to combat this virus. To this end, we evaluated a new class of organometallic complexes as potential antivirals. Our findings demonstrate that two pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) rhodium piano stool complexes, Cp*Rh(1,3-dicyclohexylimidazol-2-ylidene)Cl2 (complex 2) and Cp*Rh(dipivaloylmethanato)Cl (complex 4), have direct virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2. Subsequent in vitro testing suggests that complex 4 is the more stable and effective complex and demonstrates that both 2 and 4 have low toxicity in Vero E6 and Calu-3 cells. The results presented here highlight the potential application of organometallic complexes as antivirals and support further investigation into their activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals for Newly Emerging Viral Diseases of Global Importance)
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Article
Identification of the SHREK Family of Proteins as Broad-Spectrum Host Antiviral Factors
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 832; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050832 - 04 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 901
Abstract
Mucins and mucin-like molecules are highly glycosylated, high-molecular-weight cell surface proteins that possess a semi-rigid and highly extended extracellular domain. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), a mucin-like glycoprotein, has recently been found to restrict HIV-1 infectivity through virion incorporation that sterically hinders virus particle [...] Read more.
Mucins and mucin-like molecules are highly glycosylated, high-molecular-weight cell surface proteins that possess a semi-rigid and highly extended extracellular domain. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), a mucin-like glycoprotein, has recently been found to restrict HIV-1 infectivity through virion incorporation that sterically hinders virus particle attachment to target cells. Here, we report the identification of a family of antiviral cellular proteins, named the Surface-Hinged, Rigidly-Extended Killer (SHREK) family of virion inactivators (PSGL-1, CD43, TIM-1, CD34, PODXL1, PODXL2, CD164, MUC1, MUC4, and TMEM123) that share similar structural characteristics with PSGL-1. We demonstrate that SHREK proteins block HIV-1 infectivity by inhibiting virus particle attachment to target cells. In addition, we demonstrate that SHREK proteins are broad-spectrum host antiviral factors that block the infection of diverse viruses such as influenza A. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a subset of SHREKs also blocks the infectivity of a hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 (Ha-CoV-2) pseudovirus. These results suggest that SHREK proteins may be a part of host innate immunity against enveloped viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals for Newly Emerging Viral Diseases of Global Importance)
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Review

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Review
Antiviral Bioactive Compounds of Mushrooms and Their Antiviral Mechanisms: A Review
Viruses 2021, 13(2), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13020350 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1145
Abstract
Mushrooms are used in their natural form as a food supplement and food additive. In addition, several bioactive compounds beneficial for human health have been derived from mushrooms. Among them, polysaccharides, carbohydrate-binding protein, peptides, proteins, enzymes, polyphenols, triterpenes, triterpenoids, and several other compounds [...] Read more.
Mushrooms are used in their natural form as a food supplement and food additive. In addition, several bioactive compounds beneficial for human health have been derived from mushrooms. Among them, polysaccharides, carbohydrate-binding protein, peptides, proteins, enzymes, polyphenols, triterpenes, triterpenoids, and several other compounds exert antiviral activity against DNA and RNA viruses. Their antiviral targets were mostly virus entry, viral genome replication, viral proteins, and cellular proteins and influenced immune modulation, which was evaluated through pre-, simultaneous-, co-, and post-treatment in vitro and in vivo studies. In particular, they treated and relieved the viral diseases caused by herpes simplex virus, influenza virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Some mushroom compounds that act against HIV, influenza A virus, and hepatitis C virus showed antiviral effects comparable to those of antiviral drugs. Therefore, bioactive compounds from mushrooms could be candidates for treating viral infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals for Newly Emerging Viral Diseases of Global Importance)
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