A cell-based high-throughput approach to identify inhibitors of influenza A virus

Influenza is one of the most common infections threatening public health worldwide and is caused by the influenza virus. Rapid emergence of drug resistance has led to an urgent need to develop new anti-influenza inhibitors. In this study we established a 293T cell line that constitutively synthesizes a virus-based negative strand RNA, which expresses Gaussia luciferase upon influenza A virus infection. Using this cell line, an assay was developed and optimized to search for inhibitors of influenza virus replication. Biochemical studies and statistical analyses presented herein demonstrate the sensitivity and reproducibility of the assay in a high-throughput format (Z' factor value>0.8). A pilot screening provides further evidence for validation of the assay. Taken together, this work provides a simple, convenient, and reliable HTS assay to identify compounds with anti-influenza activity.