title: The Race To Find Antivirals for Zika Virus.
abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, was an almost neglected pathogen until its introduction in the Americas in 2015 and its subsequent explosive spread throughout the continent, where it has infected millions of people. The virus has caused social and sanitary alarm, mainly due to its association with severe neurological disorders (Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly in fetuses and newborns). Nowadays, no specific antiviral therapy against ZIKV is available. However, during the past months, a great effort has been made to search for antiviral candidates using different approaches and methodologies, ranging from testing specific compounds with known antiviral activity to the screening of libraries with hundreds of bioactive molecules. The identified antiviral candidates include drugs targeting viral components as well as cellular ones. Here, an updated review of what has been done in this line is presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain jcsaiz@inia.es martin.mangel@inia.es.
authors.forename: Juan-Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Saiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain jcsaiz@inia.es martin.mangel@inia.es.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6015-3613
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martín-Acebes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: Zika virus; antiviral agents