PA-E18G substitution in influenza A virus confers resistance to ZX-7101, a cap-dependent endonuclease inhibitor

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved..

Cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN) in the polymerase acidic protein (PA) of influenza A virus (IAV) represents a promising drug target due to its critical role in viral gene transcription. The CEN inhibitor, baloxavir marboxil (BXM), was approved in Japan and the US in 2018 and several other countries subsequently. Along with the clinical use of BXM, the emergence and spread of IAV variants with reduced susceptibility to BXM have aroused serious concern. Herein, we comprehensively characterized the in vitro and in vivo antiviral activities of ZX-7101A, an analogue of BXM. The active form of prodrug ZX-7101 showed broad-spectrum antiviral potency against various IAV subtypes, including pH1N1, H3N2, H7N9 and H9N2, in MDCK cells, and the 50% effective concentration (EC50) was calculated to nanomole level and comparable to that of baloxavir acid (BXA), the active form of BXM. Furthermore, in vivo assays showed that administration of ZX-7101A conferred significant protection against lethal pH1N1 challenge in mice, with reduced viral RNA loads and alleviated pulmonary damage. Importantly, serial passaging of H1N1 virus in MDCK cells under selection pressure of ZX-7101 led to a resistant variant at the 15th passage. Reverse genetic and sequencing analysis demonstrated that a single E18G substitution in the PA subunit contributed to the reduced susceptibility to both ZX-7101 and BXA. Taken together, our results not only characterized a new CEN inhibitor of IAV but also identified a novel amino acid substitution responsible for CEN inhibitor resistance, which provides critical clues for future drug development and drug resistance surveillance.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:38

Enthalten in:

Virologica Sinica - 38(2023), 4 vom: 15. Aug., Seite 559-567

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Luo, Dan [VerfasserIn]
Ye, Qing [VerfasserIn]
Li, Rui-Ting [VerfasserIn]
Zhou, Hang-Yu [VerfasserIn]
Guo, Jing-Jing [VerfasserIn]
Zhao, Suo-Qun [VerfasserIn]
Zhang, Sen [VerfasserIn]
Jiang, Tao [VerfasserIn]
Deng, Yong-Qiang [VerfasserIn]
Qin, Cheng-Feng [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

4G86Y4JT3F
Antiviral Agents
Baloxavir
Baloxavir marboxil (BXM)
Cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN)
Drug resistance
EC 3.1.-
Endonucleases
Influenza virus
Journal Article
Oxazines
Pyridines
Thiepins

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 14.08.2023

Date Revised 23.08.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.virs.2023.06.002

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM357923618