Frontiers of Medicine 2021;15(3):404-415

doi:10.1007/s11684-021-0834-9

Repurposing clinical drugs is a promising strategy to discover drugs against Zika virus infection.

Weibao SONG 1 ; Hongjuan ZHANG 1 ; Yu ZHANG 1 ; Rui LI 1 ; Yanxing HAN 1 ; Yuan LIN 2 ; Jiandong JIANG 3 4

Affiliations

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Keywords

ZIKV inhibitors; Zika virus; antivirals; clinical drugs; repurposing

Country

China

Language

English

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging pathogen associated with neurological complications, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults and microcephaly in fetuses and newborns. This mosquito-borne flavivirus causes important social and sanitary problems owing to its rapid dissemination. However, the development of antivirals against ZIKV is lagging. Although various strategies have been used to study anti-ZIKV agents, approved drugs or vaccines for the treatment (or prevention) of ZIKV infections are currently unavailable. Repurposing clinically approved drugs could be an effective approach to quickly respond to an emergency outbreak of ZIKV infections. The well-established safety profiles and optimal dosage of these clinically approved drugs could provide an economical, safe, and efficacious approach to address ZIKV infections. This review focuses on the recent research and development of agents against ZIKV infection by repurposing clinical drugs. Their characteristics, targets, and potential use in anti-ZIKV therapy are presented. This review provides an update and some successful strategies in the search for anti-ZIKV agents are given.