Uwamahoro Hilarie, Collier Willard E, Nashar Toufic O, Jaynes Jesse M, Mortley Desmond G, Davis Cheryl G, Kanyairita Getrude G, Abdelazim Eslam F, Igiramaboko Jean Francois Regis, Habineza Concorde, Tumushimiyimana Devotha, Rutayisire Umuraza Noella, Davis Yasmin A, Renard Kamora L
Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA.
Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA.
Molecules. 2025 Apr 8;30(8):1651. doi: 10.3390/molecules30081651.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for effective and affordable antiviral drugs. Anthropogenic activities have increased interactions among humans, animals, and wildlife, contributing to the emergence of new and re-emerging viral diseases. RNA viruses pose significant challenges due to their rapid mutation rates, high transmissibility, and ability to adapt to host immune responses and antiviral treatments. The World Health Organization has identified several diseases (COVID-19, Ebola, Marburg, Zika, and others), all caused by RNA viruses, designated as being of priority concern as potential causes of future pandemics. Despite advances in antiviral treatments, many viruses lack specific therapeutic options, and more importantly, there is a paucity of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Additionally, the high costs of current treatments such as Remdesivir and Paxlovid highlight the need for more affordable antiviral drugs. Cyclic peptides from natural sources or designed through molecular modeling have shown promise as antiviral drugs with stability, low toxicity, high target specificity, and low antiviral resistance properties. This review emphasizes the urgent need to develop specific and broad-spectrum antiviral drugs and highlights cyclic peptides as a sustainable solution to combat future pandemics. Further research into these compounds could provide a new weapon to combat RNA viruses and address the gaps in current antiviral drug development.
新冠疫情凸显了对有效且价格亲民的抗病毒药物的需求。人为活动增加了人类、动物和野生动物之间的接触，促使新出现和再度出现的病毒性疾病不断涌现。RNA病毒因其快速的突变率、高传播性以及适应宿主免疫反应和抗病毒治疗的能力而构成重大挑战。世界卫生组织已确定了几种疾病（新冠、埃博拉、马尔堡、寨卡等），均由RNA病毒引起，被指定为未来大流行的潜在起因并受到重点关注。尽管抗病毒治疗取得了进展，但许多病毒仍缺乏特定的治疗选择，更重要的是，广谱抗病毒药物匮乏。此外，瑞德西韦和帕罗韦德等当前治疗方法的高昂成本凸显了对更具价格优势的抗病毒药物的需求。源自天然或通过分子建模设计的环肽已显示出有望成为具有稳定性、低毒性、高靶点特异性和低抗病毒耐药性的抗病毒药物。本综述强调了开发特异性和广谱抗病毒药物的迫切需求，并突出了环肽作为应对未来大流行的可持续解决方案。对这些化合物的进一步研究可为对抗RNA病毒提供新武器，并填补当前抗病毒药物研发的空白。
