LJ-001 is a broad-spectrum

antiviral drug 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 ...

developed as a potential treatment for enveloped viruses. It acts as an inhibitor which blocks viral entry into host cells at a step after virus binding but before virus–cell fusion, and also irreversibly inactivates the virions themselves by generating reactive

singlet oxygen Singlet oxygen, systematically named dioxygen(singlet) and dioxidene, is a gaseous inorganic chemistry, inorganic chemical with the formula O=O (also written as or ), which is in a quantum state where all electrons are Radical (chemistry), spin p ...

molecules which damage the viral membrane. In cell culture tests ''in vitro'', LJ-001 was able to block and disable a wide range of different viruses, including

influenza A ''Influenza A virus'' (''Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae'') or IAV is the only species of the genus ''Alphainfluenzavirus'' of the virus family '' Orthomyxoviridae''. It is a pathogen with strains that infect birds and some mammals, as well as c ...

filovirus ''Filoviridae'' () is a family of single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses in the order ''Mononegavirales''. Two members of the family that are commonly known are Ebola virus and Marburg virus. Both viruses, and some of their lesser known rela ...

es,

poxvirus ''Poxviridae'' is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses. Vertebrates and arthropods serve as natural hosts. The family contains 22 genera that are assigned to two subfamilies: ''Chordopoxvirinae'' and ''Entomopoxvirinae''. ''Entomopoxvirinae'' ...

es,

arenavirus An arenavirus is a bi- or trisegmented ambisense RNA virus that is a member of the family ''Arenaviridae''. These viruses infect rodents and occasionally humans. A class of novel, highly divergent arenaviruses, properly known as reptarenavirus ...

es, bunyaviruses, paramyxoviruses,

flavivirus ''Flavivirus'', renamed ''Orthoflavivirus'' in 2023, is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika viru ...

es, and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

. Unfortunately LJ-001 itself was unsuitable for further development, as it has poor physiological stability and requires light for its antiviral mechanism to operate. However the discovery of this novel mechanism for blocking virus entry and disabling the virion particles has led to LJ-001 being used as a

lead compound A lead compound (, i.e. a "leading" compound, not to be confused with various compounds of the metallic element lead) in drug discovery is a chemical compound that has pharmacological or biological activity likely to be therapeutically useful, but ...

to develop a novel family of more effective antiviral drugs with improved properties.

References

Antiviral drugs Abandoned drugs Phenyl compounds Furans Thiazolidines Allyl compounds {{antiinfective-drug-stub

See also

References