title: Small-molecule screening using a whole-cell viral replication reporter gene assay identifies 2-{[2-(benzoylamino)benzoyl]amino}-benzoic acid as a novel antiadenoviral compound.
abstract: Adenovirus infections are widespread in society and are occasionally associated with severe, but rarely with life-threatening, disease in otherwise healthy individuals. In contrast, adenovirus infections present a real threat to immunocompromised individuals and can result in disseminated and fatal disease. The number of patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is steadily increasing, as is the number of AIDS patients, and this makes the problem of adenovirus infections even more urgent to solve. There is no formally approved treatment of adenovirus infections today, and existing antiviral agents evaluated for their antiadenoviral effect give inconsistent results. We have developed a whole cell-based assay for high-throughput screening of potential antiadenoviral compounds. The assay is unique in that it is based on a replication-competent adenovirus type 11p green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing vector (RCAd11pGFP). This allows measurement of fluorescence changes as a direct result of RCAd11pGFP genome expression. Using this assay, we have screened 9,800 commercially available small organic compounds. Initially, we observed approximately 400 compounds that inhibited adenovirus expression in vitro by > or = 80%, but only 24 were later confirmed as dose-dependent inhibitors of adenovirus. One compound in particular, 2-{[2-(benzoylamino)benzoyl]amino}-benzoic acid, turned out to be a potent inhibitor of adenovirus replication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Umeå University, SE-901 85 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emma K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Mårten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Edlund
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindman
authors.forename: Per-Anders
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Enquist
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spjut
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allard
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elofsson
authors.forename: Ya-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wadell
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019817:Benzoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019817:Benzoic Acid