FDA-approved drug screening identified micafungin as an antiviral agent against bat-borne emerging zoonotic Pteropine orthoreovirus

Abstract

Bat-borne emerging zoonotic viruses cause major outbreaks, such as the Ebola virus, Nipah virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2. Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV), which spillover event occurred from fruit bats to humans, causes respiratory syndrome in humans widely in South East Asia. Repurposing approved drugs against PRV is a critical tool to confront future PRV pandemics. We screened 2,943 compounds in an FDA-approved drug library and identified eight hit compounds that reduce viral cytopathic effects on cultured Vero cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that six of eight hit compounds significantly inhibited PRV replication. Among them, micafungin used clinically as an antifungal drug, displayed a prominent antiviral effect on PRV. HighlightsO_LIA library of 2,943 FDA-approved drugs was screened to find potential antiviral drugs of Pteropine orthoreovirus. C_LIO_LISix hit compounds dramatically inhibited viral replication in vitro. C_LIO_LIMicafungin possessed antiviral activity to multiple strains of PRV. C_LI