Host Factors: New Dimension in Antiviral Drug Targeting

A spike in the emergence of several viruses is observed in the modern era, including the present SARS-CoV2 virus. The continuous emergence of new viral strains and growing resistance to the existing antiviral drugs urge new drug targets and novel antiviral candidates against them. Host genes utilized by the viruses for their proliferation, also known as host factors, have surfaced as a new antiviral strategy. If affordable to the host cells, targeting the host factors may prove beneficial in controlling viral infection. Host factors play an essential function in the viral life cycle, and modulating their functions would thus impact viral replication. Often, the interacting interfaces between the host and the viral proteins aim at antiviral interventions. This aspect of antiviral drug development is in its inception phase. However, with the advancement in molecular techniques identifying various viral host factors, this field is believed to have immense potential as an antiviral drug targeting strategy. This chapter briefly describes the host proteins' implication in viral biology and how they can be exploited to treat viral diseases.

Keywords: CRISPR-Cas9 technology, FDA-approved drugs, Genome-wide association studies, Host factor, Host-targeting Antivirals, RNAi screens.