Antiviral small molecule for equine encephalitis

A quinazolinone-based antiviral could help treat and prevent equine encephalitis by inhibiting viral RNA synthesis.

Screening in a human kidney cell line infected with Venezuelan or eastern equine encephalitis virus (VEEV or EEEV) strains identified a pyrrolidine ring–containing quinazolinone — a precursor to a previously identified benzamidine antiviral — that inhibited viral cytopathic effects at submicromolar concentrations and reduced viral titers. Optimization of this compound for increased activity against a broader set of viral strains yielded a 2-pyrrolidinoquinazolinone that inhibited viral RNA synthesis and crossed the blood-brain barrier in mice...