Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus (FLV) transmitted by mosquitoes, has become a global health concern because of its association with severe neurological disorders, such as microcephaly in fetuses and newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral therapies that have been specifically approved to treat ZIKV, and hence, there is an urgent need to develop effective anti-ZIKV agents. Here we report anti-ZIKV activity of 16 synthetic carbohydrate receptors (SCRs) that inhibit ZIKV infection in Vero cells. Using a ZIKV Reporter Virus Particle (RVP)-based infection assay, our data demonstrates these SCRs are highly potent with IC<sub>50</sub>’s as low as 0.159 µM and negligible toxicity at several fold higher concentrations. Time-of-addition studies showed that these SCRs inhibit the early stages of the virus infection process in Vero cells. These data are consistent with the proposed mode of action, where the SCRs likely inhibit binding between the virus and cell-surface glycans, thereby preventing viral entry into the cells, and, as such, this study demonstrates a potential new strategy against ZIKV and other members of the <i>Flaviviridae family</i>.

Synthetic carbohydrate receptors with potent anti-Zika virus activity

2019 Spring National Meeting

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