Development of Broad Spectrum Antivirals For Potential Treatment of Various Viral Infections

There is no effective small-molecule therapy for most viruses, including highly pathogenic viruses such as Ebola, which is associated with mortality rates of up to 90 percent following infection. Filone et al, describe compounds that inhibit the replication of genetically diverse viruses, including Ebola. These compounds can limit virus replication (illustrated as green molecules "blocking" spread of orange Ebola virus virions from an infected cell). These molecules represent probes of a central virus function as well as a lead compound for the development of effective broad-spectrum antivirals.
Credit: Image created by Claire Marie Filone and John Connor, Ebola virus micrograph by Chris Reed at USAMRIID.

Researchers are studying molecules called indolie alkaloids that can be modified to enhance antiviral activity for a possible treatment for various viral infections such as the deadly Ebola virus.

Viruses are small infectious agents that are made up of a chain of genetic DNA or RNA. Viruses needs a host cell to stay alive and replicate.

The difference between bacteria and a virus is that a bacteria is a living single celled organism. A virus is not considered a living organism (there are some arguments for and against this). A virus does not have any cellular parts or internal cellular structure. It consists only of a protein coat that holds a coiled string of nucleic acid, in this case DNA or RNA.

While bacteria can thrive in most surfaces and environments, a virus needs a living host to stay alive. It infects the cells of the host and uses these cells to make copies of it, infecting other cells in the process. Viruses spread from host to host through contact; direct or indirect.

Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections. They address bacterial infections by killing off the bacteria. For viral infections, there are relatively few drugs that can address these. This is because the virus lives inside the cells. Destroying the virus means killing the cells of the host.

Immunizing against a virus is the most common way. Immunization protects the body from contracting the viral infection. But as seen with the common cold or the influenza virus, viruses can mutate and work around the immunization.