Screening and Identification of Lujo Virus Inhibitors Using a Recombinant Reporter Virus Platform
Stephen R. Welch, Jessica R. Spengler, Sarah C. Genzer, Payel Chatterjee, Mike Flint, Éric Bergeron, Joel M. Montgomery, Stuart T. Nichol, César G. Albariño, Christina F. Spiropoulou
Abstract
Lujo virus (LUJV), a highly pathogenic arenavirus, was first identified in 2008 in Zambia. To aid the identification of effective therapeutics for LUJV, we developed a recombinant reporter virus system, confirming reporter LUJV comparability with wild-type virus and its utility in high-throughput antiviral screening assays. Using this system, we evaluated compounds with known and unknown efficacy against related arenaviruses, with the aim of identifying LUJV-specific and potential new pan-arenavirus antivirals. We identified six compounds demonstrating robust anti-LUJV activity, including several compounds with previously reported activity against other arenaviruses. These data provide critical evidence for developing broad-spectrum antivirals against high-consequence arenaviruses.