Arthropod-borne flaviviruses are human pathogens of global medical importance, against which no effective small molecule-based antiviral therapy has currently been reported. Arbidol (umifenovir) is a broad-spectrum antiviral compound approved in Russia and China for prophylaxis and treatment of influenza. This compound shows activities against numerous DNA and RNA viruses. The mode of action is based predominantly on impairment of critical steps in virus-cell interactions. Here we demonstrate that arbidol possesses micromolar-level anti-viral effects (EC50 values ranging from 10.57 ± 0.74 to 19.16 ± 0.29 µM) in Vero cells infected with Zika virus, West Nile virus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus, three medically important representatives of the arthropod-borne flaviviruses. Interestingly, no antiviral effects of arbidol are observed in virus infected porcine stable kidney cells (PS), human neuroblastoma cells (UKF-NB-4), and human hepatoma cells (Huh-7 cells) indicating that the antiviral effect of arbidol is strongly cell-type dependent. Arbidol shows increasing cytotoxicity when tested in various cell lines, in the order: Huh-7 < HBCA < PS < UKF-NB-4 < Vero with CC50 values ranging from 18.69 ± 0.1 to 89.72 ± 0.19 µM. Antiviral activities and acceptable cytotoxicity profiles suggest that arbidol could be a promising candidate for further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent in selective treatment of flaviviral infections.

• Klíčová slova
• antiviral activity, arbidol, cell-type dependent antiviral effect, cytotoxicity, flavivirus, umifenovir,
• MeSH
• antivirové látky farmakologie   toxicita   MeSH
• buněčné linie MeSH
• Cercopithecus aethiops MeSH
• členovci - vektory virologie   MeSH
• Flavivirus účinky léků   genetika   MeSH
• indoly farmakologie   toxicita   MeSH
• infekce viry z rodu Flavivirus virologie   MeSH
• inhibiční koncentrace 50 MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• proteiny virového obalu genetika   MeSH
• regulace exprese virových genů účinky léků   MeSH
• Vero buňky MeSH
• viabilita buněk účinky léků   MeSH
• virus západního Nilu účinky léků   genetika   MeSH
• virus zika účinky léků   genetika   MeSH
• viry klíšťové encefalitidy účinky léků   genetika   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antivirové látky MeSH
• indoly MeSH
• proteiny virového obalu MeSH
• umifenovir MeSH Prohlížeč