Antiviral therapies are notoriously difficult to develop, as viruses can quickly mutate to become resistant to drugs, or hide within cells. Researchers at NYU have now developed a new approach to antiviral treatment that ignores the fast-mutating proteins on the surface of viruses and instead targets lipids in the membranes of enveloped viruses, which disrupts their protective layers. In a newly published study the researchers showed how these novel peptoid molecules, inspired by the immune system, could inactivate several viruses, including Zika and chikungunya. The team suggests their approach may not only lead to drugs that can be used against many viruses, but could also help overcome antiviral resistance.
“We found an Achilles heel of many viruses: their bubble-like membranes,” said Kent Kirshenbaum, PhD, professor of chemistry at NYU. “Exploiting this vulnerability and disrupting the membrane is a promising mechanism of action for developing new antivirals.” Kirshenbaum is senior author of the team’s published paper in ACS Infectious Diseases, which is titled “Peptidomimetic Oligomers Targeting Membrane Phosphatidylserine Exhibit Broad Antiviral Activity.”
In their paper the authors concluded, “We provide the first evidence for the engagement of distinct viral envelope lipid constituents, establishing an avenue for specificity that may enable the development of a new family of therapeutics capable of averting the rapid development of resistance.”
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