About this Research Topic
Why do we need new and innovative strategies in the development of antiviral drugs? The appearance of new emerging viruses, as well as the fact that more and more antivirals have a relatively narrow range of action, shows very clearly the need for the development of new drugs against viral infections. Moreover, resistance against present antivirals are found in new appearing virus strains. New strategies in the development of antiviral drugs are urgently needed with a special focus on equitable and affordable antivirals for low income countries. It is therefore essential to discover new strategies for this development in order to overcome the above-mentioned gaps and to improve the public health use of antivirals.
In the past, the focus on the development of anti-viral drugs has often been on the high specificity against a particular viral target. This has resulted in the development of effective antivirals but also often resulted in the development of resistant virus variants since point mutations in the viral genome resulted in reduced effectiveness of these antiviral drugs. Over the past two decades, a lot has changed in this area. The potential of combination therapy was demonstrated by the development of antiretroviral therapy against HIV. The use of different compounds acting against different viral targets represented an extension of the 'one bug–one drug' strategy. Inadequate antiviral response is found to an increasing diversity of viruses. This inability of the existing drugs leads to a new paradigm, namely the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Another reason for the need of new and innovative antiviral strategies are different treatment challenges between acute and chronic viral infections. Especially in chronic viral infections the challenge is to develop an effective therapy, which has a low side effect profile.
In this Research Topic we welcome the contribution of original research article as well as reviews. We encourage authors to present new antiviral strategies directed either directly against the virus, as well as strategies that target the virus indirectly; e.g. by the inhibition of intracellular signaling pathways that are mandatory for viral propagation. Furthermore, we are open for antiviral strategies using herbal ingredients All contributions should have in common a clear translational character of the research.
In the past, the focus on the development of anti-viral drugs has often been on the high specificity against a particular viral target. This has resulted in the development of effective antivirals but also often resulted in the development of resistant virus variants since point mutations in the viral genome resulted in reduced effectiveness of these antiviral drugs. Over the past two decades, a lot has changed in this area. The potential of combination therapy was demonstrated by the development of antiretroviral therapy against HIV. The use of different compounds acting against different viral targets represented an extension of the 'one bug–one drug' strategy. Inadequate antiviral response is found to an increasing diversity of viruses. This inability of the existing drugs leads to a new paradigm, namely the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Another reason for the need of new and innovative antiviral strategies are different treatment challenges between acute and chronic viral infections. Especially in chronic viral infections the challenge is to develop an effective therapy, which has a low side effect profile.
In this Research Topic we welcome the contribution of original research article as well as reviews. We encourage authors to present new antiviral strategies directed either directly against the virus, as well as strategies that target the virus indirectly; e.g. by the inhibition of intracellular signaling pathways that are mandatory for viral propagation. Furthermore, we are open for antiviral strategies using herbal ingredients All contributions should have in common a clear translational character of the research.
Keywords: Antivirals, broad-spectrum, resistance, combination, signaling
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