Inhibition of PIKfyve kinase prevents infection by Zaire ebolavirus and SARS-CoV-2
Yuan-Lin Kang, Yi-ying Chou, View ORCID ProfilePaul W. Rothlauf, View ORCID ProfileZhuoming Liu, Timothy K. Soh, View ORCID ProfileDavid Cureton, James Brett Case, Rita E. Chen, View ORCID ProfileMichael S. Diamond, View ORCID ProfileSean P. J. Whelan, and View ORCID ProfileTom Kirchhausen
PNAS first published August 6, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007837117
Edited by Peter Palese, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, and approved July 22, 2020 (received for review April 22, 2020)
Abstract
Virus entry is a multistep process. It initiates when the virus attaches to the host cell and ends when the viral contents reach the cytosol. Genetically unrelated viruses can subvert analogous subcellular mechanisms and use similar trafficking pathways for successful entry. Antiviral strategies targeting early steps of infection are therefore appealing, particularly when the probability for successful interference through a common step is highest. We describe here potent inhibitory effects on content release and infection by chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) containing the envelope proteins of Zaire ebolavirus (VSV-ZEBOV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (VSV-SARS-CoV-2) elicited by Apilimod and Vacuolin-1, small-molecule inhibitors of the main endosomal phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate/phosphatidylinositol 5-kinase, PIKfyve. We also describe potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 strain 2019-nCoV/USA-WA1/2020 by Apilimod. These results define tools for studying the intracellular trafficking of pathogens elicited by inhibition of PIKfyve kinase and suggest the potential for targeting this kinase in developing small-molecule antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.
