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Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Early Viral Entry Assays for the Identification and Evaluation of Antiviral Compounds
Published on: October 29, 2015
Kinase Inhibitors as Underexplored Antiviral Agents
Javier García-Cárceles1, Elena Caballero1, Carmen Gil1
1Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas (CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
Viral infections are a major health problem; therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Antivirals used to target proteins encoded by the viral genome usually enhance drug resistance generated by the virus. A potential solution may be drugs acting at host-based targets since viruses are dependent on numerous cellular proteins and phosphorylation events that are crucial during their life cycle. Repurposing existing kinase inhibitors as antiviral agents would help in the cost and effectiveness of the process, but this strategy usually does not provide much improvement, and specific medicinal chemistry programs are needed in the field. Anyway, extensive use of FDA-approved kinase inhibitors has been quite useful in deciphering the role of host kinases in viral infection. The present perspective aims to review the state of the art of kinase inhibitors that target viral infections in different development stages.
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