Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026
09:05
MicroRNA-based Regulation of Picornavirus Tropism
Published on: February 6, 2017
Selective inhibitors of picornavirus replication
Armando M De Palma1, Inge Vliegen, Erik De Clercq
1Rega Institute, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 10, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Medicinal Research Reviews
|April 3, 2008
Summary
Developing effective antiviral therapies for picornaviruses remains critical due to their significant impact on human and veterinary health. This review highlights key advancements in identifying targets and developing treatments for picornavirus infections.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Picornaviruses cause significant human and veterinary diseases, ranging from mild to life-threatening.
- Currently, no approved therapies exist for picornavirus infections, necessitating ongoing antiviral development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review critical developments in the search for effective antiviral agents against picornaviruses.
- To highlight key targets within the picornaviral replication cycle for therapeutic intervention.
Main Methods:
- Review of scientific literature and clinical trial data.
- Analysis of identified targets in the picornaviral replication cycle.
- Examination of drug development pipelines, including Pleconaril, Rupintrivir, and BTA-798.
Main Results:
- Several picornavirus replication steps involving structural and non-structural proteins are viable targets for antiviral drugs.
- Past and ongoing clinical trials (e.g., Pleconaril, Rupintrivir, BTA-798) demonstrate progress and challenges in picornavirus antiviral development.
Conclusions:
- Despite challenges, the search for picornavirus antivirals continues, focusing on specific viral targets.
- Continued research and development are essential to address the unmet medical need for picornavirus infection treatments.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis
Protein synthesis is indispensable for viral replication, as viruses lack the cellular machinery required for this process and must hijack the host's translational apparatus. In response, host cells deploy a critical innate immune defense involving interferons, specialized cytokines that play a central role in inhibiting viral propagation.Upon viral detection, infected cells release interferons that bind to receptors on adjacent uninfected cells, activating the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and...
01:19Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
As part of their replication cycle, certain viruses synthesize long precursor proteins called polyproteins within infected host cells. In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), two major polyproteins are produced: Gag and Gag-Pol. The Gag polyprotein supplies the structural components of the virus, while Gag-Pol includes essential viral enzymes such as reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease. After synthesis, these polyproteins move to the host cell membrane, where they assemble into an...
01:25Inhibitors Of Virion Release
Viral replication and dissemination rely on efficient mechanisms for host cell entry, genome replication, assembly, and release. Influenza viruses, such as types A and B, are negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses with a segmented genome, that depend on two critical surface glycoproteins to carry out these processes: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA initiates infection by binding to sialic acid residues on the surface of host epithelial cells, facilitating receptor-mediated...
01:22Antiviral Nucleoside Inhibitors
Antiviral Nucleoside InhibitorsAntiviral nucleoside inhibitors are structural analogs of natural nucleosides that interfere with viral DNA or RNA synthesis. These compounds selectively target viral polymerases due to their resemblance to host nucleosides, thereby disrupting viral genome replication.Mechanism of Acyclovir ActionAcyclovir is a guanosine analog with a three-carbon acyclic side chain. It selectively targets herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2),...
01:28Inhibitors of Bacterial DNA Synthesis
Bacterial pathogens depend on precise and efficient DNA replication to sustain infection. Two type II topoisomerases—DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV—are critical to this process, as they resolve DNA supercoiling and unlink chromosomes during replication. Fluoroquinolones, synthetic derivatives of quinolones, exploit this mechanism by stabilizing the transient DNA–enzyme cleavage complex, preventing strand religation, and causing lethal double-strand breaks. These antibiotics are selectively...
01:25Inhibitors of Bacterial Protein Synthesis
Aminoglycosides constitute a highly potent class of bactericidal antibiotics that exert their antimicrobial effects by targeting the bacterial ribosome, specifically disrupting protein synthesis. These polycationic molecules consist of amino-modified sugars linked via glycosidic bonds to an aminocyclitol core such as 2-deoxystreptamine or streptamine. Their strong positive charges facilitate tight binding to the negatively charged phosphate backbone of ribosomal RNA (rRNA), primarily at the 16S...