Leflunomide: Traditional immunosuppressant with concurrent antiviral effects
Kunyu Zheng, Yiran Chen, Suying Liu, Chengmei He, Yunjiao Yang, Di Wu, Li Wang, Mengtao Li, Xiaofeng Zeng, Fengchun Zhang
Abstract
Leflunomide is a classic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug that is widely used to treat autoimmune diseases. Studies also show its antiviral effects in in vitro and/or in vivo experiments. Considering glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants and newly emerged antibodies commonly used in autoimmune diseases and autoinflammatory disorders bring risk of infection such as viral infection, leflunomide with combination of anti-viral and immunosuppressive features to maintain the balance between infection and anti-inflammation are attractive. Here we summarize the actions and mechanisms of leflunomide in immunoregulatory and antiviral effects.