Strategies for the development of small molecule inhibitors of ebola viral infection.

Abstract

The recent outbreak of Ebola viral disease (EVD) in West Africa reminded us that an effective anti-viral treatment still does not exist, despite the significant progress that has recently been made in understanding biology and pathology of this lethal disease. Currently, there are no approved vaccine and/or prophylactic medication for the treatment of EVD in the market. However, the serious pandemic potential of EVD mobilized research teams in the academy and the pharmaceutical industry in the effort to find an Ebola cure as fast as possible. In this chapter, we are giving the condensed review of different approaches and strategies in search of a drug against Ebola. We have been focusing on the review of the targets that could be used for in silico, in vitro, and/or in vivo drug design of compounds that interact with the targets in different phases of the Ebola virus life cycle. Keywords: small molecule inhibitors, Ebola virus, drug design, protein targets, structure and action