Enterovirus 71 (EV71), one of the major causative agents of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD), causes severe pandemics and hundreds of deaths in the Asia-Pacific region annually and is an enormous public health threat. However, effective therapeutic antiviral drugs against EV71 are rare. Nucleoside analogues have been successfully used in the clinic for the treatment of various viral infections. We evaluated a total of 27 nucleoside analogues and discovered that an adenosine nucleoside analogue NITD008, which has been reported to be an antiviral reagent that specifically inhibits flaviviruses, effectively suppressed the propagation of different strains of EV71 in RD, 293T and Vero cells with a relatively high selectivity index. Triphosphorylated NITD008 (ppp-NITD008) functions as a chain terminator to directly inhibit the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity of EV71, and it does not affect the EV71 VPg uridylylation process. A significant synergistic anti-EV71 effect of NITD008 with rupintrivir (AG7088) (a protease inhibitor) was documented, supporting the potential combination therapy of NITD008 with other inhibitors for the treatment of EV71 infections.
Keywords: Enterovirus 71; NITD008; Nucleoside analogue; Polymerase.
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