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EMBARGO: 15th September 2016, 11 AM Pacific / 2 PM Eastern
Computational Method Identifies Existing Drugs with Virus-Fighting Potential
New screening strategy could speed discovery of antiviral medications
A new, computer-based screening method could reveal the virus-fighting potential of drugs
originally developed to treat other conditions, reports a study in PLOS Computational Biology.
Every year, viral infections cause millions of deaths worldwide.
While traditional drug development can yield powerful new
antiviral medications, repurposing existing drugs that are already
well understood is an appealing alternative. Feixiong Cheng of
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Tennessee, and
colleagues have developed a new strategy to quickly identify drugs
with this potential.
The researchers used a molecular biology technique called gene-trap insertional mutagenesis to
identify hundreds of human genes that enable viruses to hijack a human cell, but are not
necessary for the cell itself to survive. A computational framework was then used to screen for
existing drugs that already have known effects on these genes.
The screening strategy revealed 110 human genes whose protein products could potentially
serve as antiviral targets for specific existing drugs. These include several genes involved in HIV1 or Ebola infection. The researchers identified the anti-arrhythmia drug ajmaline as one
potential Ebola treatment.
Lab experiments and clinical trials are needed to validate the antiviral properties of any
promising drugs identified using the new method. Nonetheless, says lead author Feixiong
Cheng, it could enable faster discovery of medications for emerging public health threats with
no known treatments, including Ebola.
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available
article in PLOS Computational Biology:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005074
Press-only preview: (to be completed by PLOS)
Contact: Name: Donald H. Rubin
Email: [email protected]
Citation: Cheng F, Murray JL, Zhao J, Sheng J, Zhao Z, Rubin DH (2016) Systems
Biology-Based Investigation of Cellular Antiviral Drug Targets Identified by GeneTrap Insertional Mutagenesis. PLoS Comput Biol 12(9): e1005074. doi:10.1371/
journal.pcbi.1005074
Image Caption: Computational Method Identifies Existing Drugs with VirusFighting Potential
Image Credit: Isabel Odriozola / Flickr
Image Link: (to be completed by PLOS)
Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (81573020). This work was also partially supported by National Institutes of
Health (NIH) grants (R01LM011177) to ZZ. The funders had no role in study
design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the
manuscript.
Competing Interests: JLM was previously employed by Zirus, Inc and is currently
employed by GeneTAG Technology, Inc. The authors confirm they have no
competing interests.
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