Antiviral agents against HCV, RSV and coronavirus

About this project

We develop and use high-throughput screening assays to identify molecules with antiviral activity against RSV and SARS-CoV-2. For this purpose, we use luminescence- or reporter-based systems and make use of substance libraries of the HZI, the MHH and other external cooperation partners. For example, we cooperate with the Scripps Institute and use the ReFRAME repurposing compound library. The ReFRAME library is the world's largest collection of already approved or clinically proven compounds. The collections we use include a wide range of basic chemical structures, complex molecules from natural sources (secondary metabolites from bacteria, fungi, or plants), as well as already approved drugs. Our expertise in basic virological research enables us to elucidate the modes of action of these substances and viral resistance mechanisms. In doing so, we pursue the goal of developing new therapeutic options.

In collaboration with experts at the HZI, we have analyzed the mode of action of labyrinthopeptins against different viruses. Labyrinthopeptins bind certain lipids and lead to the destruction of the membranes of viruses. This makes them a very broad antiviral molecule, making it difficult for viruses to develop resistance to. (Blockus et al. 2020).
Funded by the Helmholtz International Laboratory for Anti-Infectives and as part of an international consortium, we have uncovered a new mode of action for treating RSV infection. RSV concentrates its components for RNA propagation in so-called "inclusion bodies". These fluid organelles play a crucial role in genome replication and viral transcription. The new compound hardens these viral replication organelles and disrupts, in this way, the infection of the virus (Risso-Ballester et al. Nature 2021).