Published in

National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 19(113), p. 5388-5393, 2016

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522987113

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Human DDX3 protein is a valuable target to develop broad spectrum antiviral agents

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Significance Human DEAD-box polypeptide 3 (DDX3) is an ATPase/RNA helicase involved in the replication of many viral pathogens. We reported herein the first inhibitor, to our knowledge, of the helicase binding site of DDX3 endowed with a broad spectrum antiviral activity [HIV-1 WT, HIV drug-resistant strains, Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Dengue virus (DENV), and West Nile virus (WNV)]. The good toxicity profile suggests that the DDX3 activity, although essential for viruses, could be dispensable to the cells, validating DDX3 as a pharmaceutical target. Our results clearly showed that DDX3 inhibitors could be exploited to treat HIV/HCV coinfections, emerging infectious diseases (such as DENV and WNV), and HIV-1 patients carrying drug-resistant strains. Each of these three medical conditions currently represents a major challenge for clinical treatment.