Drug Discovery in Enteroviral Infections

Tzu-Chun      Chen; Shin-Ru      Shih

Abstract

Enteroviruses (EVs) are common and significant human pathogens in Asia. EV infections can cause a wide spectrum of acute diseases, including CNS complications. These EV infection-related CNS syndromes include acute flaccid paralysis, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and even death. Currently, there is no vaccine available for most EVs except for poliovirus; furthermore, there is a lack of clinical antiviral drugs for treating EV-related infections. These shortages reveal the need to develop potent compounds for treating enteroviral infections. This study summarizes the development of drugs for EV-related infections based on molecular targets blocking various steps in the viral replication cycle.

Keywords: Enterovirus, antiviral agent, therapy, inhibition, viral encephalitis, capsid inhibitor, protease inhibitor, polymerase inhibitor, CNS complications, EV infection-related CNS syndromes, acute flaccid paralysis, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, poliovirus, viral replication cycle