Assessment of the anti-norovirus activity in cell culture using the mouse norovirus: Early mechanistic studies

• Main Authors: Jana Van Dycke, Jasper Rymenants, Johan Neyts, Joana Rocha-Pereira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-09-01
• Series: Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/20402066211025175

Human norovirus is the main cause of viral gastroenteritis, resulting annually in ∼ 700 million infections and 200,000 deaths, of whom most are children <5 years. Mouse norovirus-infected macrophages are the most widely used in vitro system to screen and characterize the antiviral effect of norovirus-targeting small molecules. We have previously established antiviral assays using this system, identified novel inhibitors and performed additional studies in order to have a first insight into their mechanism of action. After the identification of novel small molecules with anti-norovirus activity (part 1 of this protocol), we here describe the logical next step which entails the generation of early information of their mode of action. This information together with a continuous improvement of the potency of compounds will contribute to the optimization of a compound class towards in vivo efficacy and a successful preclinical development.