Background: Flaviviruses such as Zika cause sporadic pandemic outbreaks worldwide. There is an urgent need for anti-Zika virus (ZIKV) drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of ZIKV, new infections in high-risk populations, and the infection of medical personnel in ZIKV-affected areas.
Methods: Here, we showed that the small molecule 6-deoxyglucose-diphyllin (DGP) exhibited anti-ZIKV activity both in vitro and in vivo. DGP potently blocked ZIKV infection across all human and monkey cell lines tested. DGP also displayed broad-spectrum antiviral activity against other flaviviruses. Remarkably, DGP prevented ZIKV-induced mortality in mice lacking the type I interferon receptor (Ifnar1-/-). Cellular and virological experiments showed that DGP blocked ZIKV at a pre-fusion step or during fusion, which prevented the delivery of viral contents into the cytosol of the target cell. Mechanistic studies revealed that DGP prevented the acidification of endosomal/lysosomal compartments in target cells, thus inhibiting ZIKV fusion with cellular membranes and infection.
Findings: These investigations revealed that DGP inhibits ZIKV infection in vitro and in vivo.
Interpretation: The small molecule DGP has great potential for preclinical studies and the ability to inhibit ZIKV infection in humans.
Keywords: Endosomal; Fusion; Glycosylated diphyllin; Ifnar1(−/−); Zika; pH.
Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.