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Updated: May 9, 2026

Early Viral Entry Assays for the Identification and Evaluation of Antiviral Compounds
Published on: October 29, 2015
Cyclophilin inhibitors as antiviral agents
Michael Peel1, Andrew Scribner
1SCYNEXIS Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. mike.peel@scynexis.com
Abstract:
Cyclophilins (Cyps) are ubiquitous proteins that effect the cis-trans isomerization of Pro amide bonds, and are thus crucial to protein folding. CypA is the most prevalent of the ~19 human Cyps, and plays a crucial role in viral infectivity, most notably for HIV-1 and HCV. Cyclophilins have been shown to play key roles in effective replication of a number of viruses from different families. A drug template for CypA inhibition is cyclosporine A (CsA), a cyclic undecapeptide that simultaneously binds to both CypA and the Ca(2+)-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (CN), and can attenuate immune responses. Synthetic modifications of the CsA scaffold allows for selective binding to CypA and CN separately, thus providing access to novel, non-immunosuppressive antiviral agents.
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