High‐throughput identification of compounds targeting influenza RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase activity

As influenza viruses have developed resistance towards current drugs, new inhibitors that prevent viral replication through different inhibitory mechanisms are useful. In this study, we developed a screening procedure to search for new anti‐flu inhibitors from 1,200,000 compounds and identified new anti‐flu compounds. Several anti‐flu compounds were inhibitory to the influenza RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), including nucleozin and its analogs. The most potent nucleozin analog, 3061 (FA‐2), inhibited the replication of the influenza A/WSN/33 (H1N1) virus in MDCK cells at submicromolar concentrations and protected the lethal H1N1 infection of mice. Influenza variants resistant to 3061 (FA‐2) were isolated and shown to have the mutation on nucleoprotein (NP) that is distinct from the recently reported resistant mutation of Y289H. Recombinant influenza carrying the Y52H NP is also resistant to 3061 (FA‐2), and NP aggregation induced by 3061 (FA‐2) was identified as the most likely cause for inhibition. In addition, we identified another anti‐flu RdRP inhibitor 367 which targets PB1 protein but not NP. A mutant resistant to 367 has H456P mutation at the PB1 protein and both the recombinant influenza and the RdRP expressing the PB1 H456P mutation have elevated resistance to 367. Our high‐throughput screening (HTS) campaign thus resulted in the identification of anti‐flu compounds targeting RdRP activity. Grant Funding Source : Academia Sinica