Screening and Reverse-Engineering of Estrogen Receptor Ligands as Potent Pan-Filovirus Inhibitors.

Filoviridae, including Ebola (EBOV) and Marburg (MARV) viruses, are emerging pathogens that pose a serious threat to public health. No agents have been approved to treat filovirus infections, representing a major unmet medical need. The selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) toremifene was previously identified from a screen of FDA-approved drugs as a potent EBOV viral entry inhibitor, via binding to EBOV glycoprotein (GP). A focused screen of ER ligands identified Ridaifen-B as a potent dual inhibitor of EBOV and MARV. Optimization and reverse-engineering to remove ER activity led to a novel compound 30 showing potent inhibition against infectious EBOV Zaire (0.09 µM) and MARV (0.64 µM). Mutagenesis studies confirmed that inhibition of EBOV viral entry is mediated by direct interaction with GP. Importantly, compound 30 displayed broad-spectrum anti-filovirus activity against Bundibugyo, Tai Forest, Reston, and Měnglà viruses, and is the first sub-micromolar antiviral agent reported for some of these strains, therefore warranting further development as a pan-filovirus inhibitor.