Schloer S, et al. The clinically licensed antifungal drug itraconazole inhibits influenza virus in vitro and in vivo. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2019;8(1):80-93.
Influenza A virus (IAV) is a common pathogen of respiratory disease. The IAV-induced seasonal epidemics and the sporadic pandemics are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, effective protection and therapy for IAV infections is an important challenge in countering this public health threat. Because vaccinations only protect against known circulating strains, and the currently available antivirals pose the risk of resistance formation, drugs targeting host cell factors needed for viral replication offer a promising therapeutic approach. In this study, we describe the use of the antifungal therapeutics posaconazole and itraconazole in the therapy of IAV. We show that both drugs efficiently inhibit the propagation of IAV in the cell culture model without being cytotoxic. The mode of action is probably based on several targets and includes both a priming of the interferon response and the induced imbalance of cellular cholesterol. The antiviral effect of itraconazole could be confirmed in the mouse model, where the administration of itraconazole led to a drastic reduction in mortality and a significant increase in the survival rate. Thus, our data indicate a promising therapeutic potential of at least itraconazole in influenza therapy.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- The Limited Role for Antiviral Therapy in Influenza 3 hours ago
- Pathogenesis of bovine H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection in Macaques 4 hours ago
- [preprint]Susceptibility of bovine respiratory and mammary epithelial cells to avian and mammalian derived clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses 1 days ago
- Genetic Diversity of H10N3 Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Anhui Province, China 1 days ago
- Molecular origion of human infection with a novel avian influenza A H10N3 virus in China, 2021 1 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]