Progress in structure-based drug design against influenza A virus

The 2009-H1N1 influenza pandemic has prompted new global efforts to develop new drugs and drug design techniques to combat influenza viruses. While there have been a number of attempts to provide drugs to treat influenza, drug resistance has been a major problem with only four drugs currently approved by the FDA for its treatment.

In this review, the drug-resistant problem of influenza A viruses is discussed and summarized. The article also introduces the experimental and computational structures of drug targeting proteins, neuraminidases, and of the M2 proton channel. Furthermore, the article illustrates the latest drug candidates and techniques of computer-aided drug design with examples of their application, including virtual in silico screening and scoring, AutoDock and evolutionary technique AutoGrow.

Structure-based drug design is the inventive process for finding new drugs based on the structural knowledge of the biological target. Computer-aided drug design strategies and techniques will make drug discovery more effective and economical. It is anticipated that the recent advances in structure-based drug design techniques will greatly help scientists to develop more powerful and specific drugs to fight the next generation of influenza viruses.