A platform of assays for the discovery of anti-Zika small-molecules with activity in a 3D-bioprinted outer-blood-retina model

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 18;17(1):e0261821. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261821. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The global health emergency posed by the outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV), an arthropod-borne flavivirus causing severe neonatal neurological conditions, has subsided, but there continues to be transmission of ZIKV in endemic regions. As such, there is still a medical need for discovering and developing therapeutical interventions against ZIKV. To identify small-molecule compounds that inhibit ZIKV disease and transmission, we screened multiple small-molecule collections, mostly derived from natural products, for their ability to inhibit wild-type ZIKV. As a primary high-throughput screen, we used a viral cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assay conducted in Vero cells that was optimized and miniaturized to a 1536-well format. Suitably active compounds identified from the primary screen were tested in a panel of orthogonal assays using recombinant Zika viruses, including a ZIKV Renilla luciferase reporter assay and a ZIKV mCherry reporter system. Compounds that were active in the wild-type ZIKV inhibition and ZIKV reporter assays were further evaluated for their inhibitory effects against other flaviviruses. Lastly, we demonstrated that wild-type ZIKV is able to infect a 3D-bioprinted outer-blood-retina barrier tissue model and disrupt its barrier function, as measured by electrical resistance. One of the identified compounds (3-Acetyl-13-deoxyphomenone, NCGC00380955) was able to prevent the pathological effects of the viral infection on this clinically relevant ZIKV infection model.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antiviral Agents / chemistry
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology*
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Models, Biological*
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional*
  • Retina* / metabolism
  • Retina* / virology
  • Vero Cells
  • Virus Replication / drug effects*
  • Virus Replication / genetics
  • Zika Virus / physiology*
  • Zika Virus Infection* / drug therapy
  • Zika Virus Infection* / genetics
  • Zika Virus Infection* / metabolism

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.