Functional Proteomics Screening for Novel Anti-viral Drug Targets

Abstract

Viruses reside in the living cells and interact with a variety of host factors. Traditionally, scientists are focused on targeting virus-specific processes or enzymes with specific drugs to eliminate the pathogens, and therefore a series of novel viral structural proteins have been identified and orchestrated for anti-viral drug design. However, due to the development of drug resistance and viral genome mutation, therapeutic efficacy of these drugs designed based upon viral proteins sharply decreases. Hence, new drug discovery approaches that aim to identify novel host cell factors capable of interacting with viral proteins and critical for viral life cycle become increasingly prevalent. These functional proteomics screening platforms have globally characterized host–virus interactions and host functions important for viral infection and thus facilitated discovery of either novel or existing licensed drugs with anti-viral activity. A combination of conventional viral pathogenic factor-targeting therapy with host-directed drug treatment might be effective in treating diseases caused by the contagious viruses.