EICAR (5-ethynyl-1-β-D-ribofuranosylimidazole-4-carboxamide) is a

nucleoside analogue Nucleoside analogues are structural analogues of a nucleoside, which normally contain a nucleobase and a sugar. Nucleotide analogues are analogues of a nucleotide, which normally has one to three phosphates linked to a nucleoside. Both types ...

which has both anti-cancer and

antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

effects, and was originally developed for the treatment of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, but was unsuccessful in human

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s. It has broad spectrum antiviral effects with activity against pox viruses,

Semliki forest virus Semliki Forest virus is an alphavirus found in central, eastern, and southern Africa. It was first isolated from mosquitoes in the Semliki Forest, Uganda by the Uganda Virus Research Institute in 1942 and described by Smithburn and Haddow. It ...

, Junin virus,

reovirus ''Sedoreoviridae'' (''sedo'' = smooth) is a family of the ''Reovirales'' order of viruses. Viruses in this family are distinguished by the absence of a turreted protein on the inner capsid to produce a smooth surface. Taxonomy The family contain ...

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

measles virus The measles virus (MV), with scientific name ''Morbillivirus hominis'', is a single-stranded, negative-sense, enveloped, non-segmented RNA virus of the genus ''Morbillivirus'' within the family ''Paramyxoviridae''. It is the cause of measles. H ...

and

respiratory syncytial virus Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derive ...

among others, although it is not active against

coronaviridae ''Coronaviridae'' is a family (biology), family of Viral envelope, enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses which infect fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. The group includes the subfamilies ''Letovirinae,'' ''Orthocoronavirinae'', and ''Pitovir ...

such as

SARS-CoV-1 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), previously known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is a strain (biology), strain of coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the ...

. This useful spectrum of activity means that EICAR and related derivatives continue to be investigated for the treatment of viral diseases. EICAR was originally discovered as a potent

inhibitor Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: Biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotransmi ...

of the human

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

IMP dehydrogenase IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...

, part of the guanylate biosynthesis pathway. This activity is responsible for its known anticancer and antiviral effects.

References

Antiviral drugs {{antiinfective-drug-stub