A recent study by the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology has uncovered a promising discovery in the search for broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. The study explored innate immune agonists that target pathogen recognition receptors, identifying several agents with potent antiviral activity against RNA viral families. With RNA viruses continuing to pose a serious threat to future pandemics, this breakthrough offers hope in the fight against emerging pathogens, including arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes such as Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), Dengue virus, West Nile virus, and Zika virus. The most promising antiviral agents identified were cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) STING agonists, which not only exhibit the potential to prevent and mitigate the debilitating viral arthritis caused by CHIKV but also hold promise in triggering an immune defense against cancer. The study concludes that developing these broad-spectrum antivirals in combination with existing treatments could prove invaluable in preventing future respiratory and arboviral disease outbreaks.
