Potential and action mechanism of favipiravir as an antiviral against Junin virus.

Autor: Zadeh VR; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan., Afowowe TO; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.; Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Communicable Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan., Abe H; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan., Urata S; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan., Yasuda J; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.; Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Communicable Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.; Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLoS pathogens [PLoS Pathog] 2022 Jul 11; Vol. 18 (7), pp. e1010689. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jul 11 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010689
Abstrakt: Favipiravir is a nucleoside analogue that inhibits the replication and transcription of a broad spectrum of RNA viruses, including pathogenic arenaviruses. In this study, we isolated a favipiravir-resistant mutant of Junin virus (JUNV), which is the causative agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever, and analyzed the antiviral mechanism of favipiravir against JUNV. Two amino acid substitutions, N462D in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and A168T in the glycoprotein precursor GPC, were identified in the mutant. GPC-A168T substitution enhanced the efficiency of JUNV internalization, which explains the robust replication kinetics of the mutant in the virus growth analysis. Although RdRp-N462D substitution did not affect polymerase activity levels in a minigenome system, comparisons of RdRp error frequencies showed that the virus with RdRp-D462 possessed a significantly higher fidelity. Our next generation sequence (NGS) analysis showed a gradual accumulation of both mutations as we passaged the virus in presence of favipiravir. We also provided experimental evidence for the first time that favipiravir inhibited JUNV through the accumulation of transition mutations, confirming its role as a purine analogue against arenaviruses. Moreover, we showed that treatment with a combination of favipiravir and either ribavirin or remdesivir inhibited JUNV replication in a synergistic manner, blocking the generation of the drug-resistant mutant. Our findings provide new insights for the clinical management and treatment of Argentine hemorrhagic fever.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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