Novel influenza virus NS1 antagonists block replication and restore innate immune function.

ABSTRACT: The innate immune system guards against virus infection through a variety of mechanisms including mobilization of the host interferon system, which attacks viral products mainly at a posttranscriptional level. The influenza virus NS1 protein is a multifunctional facilitator of virus replication, one of whose actions is to antagonize the interferon response. Since NS1 is required for efficient virus replication, it was reasoned that chemical inhibitors of this protein could be used to further understand virus-host interactions and also serve as potential new antiviral agents. A yeast-based assay was developed to identify compounds that phenotypically suppress NS1 function. Several such compounds exhibited significant activity specifically against influenza A virus in cell culture but had no

SUBMITTER: Basu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2643796 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature