Identification of three antiviral inhibitors against Japanese encephalitis virus from library of pharmacologically active compounds 1280

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) can cause severe central nervous disease with a high mortality rate. There is no antiviral drug available for JEV-specific treatment. In this study, a cytopathic-effect-based, high-throughput screening assay was developed and applied to screen JEV inhibitors from Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds 1280. The antiviral effects of three hit compounds including FGIN-1-27, cilnidipine, and niclosamide were evaluated in cells by western blotting, indirect immunofluorescence assay, and plaque reduction assay. A time-of-addition assay proved that all three compounds inhibited JEV at the stage of replication. The EC50s of FGIN-1-27, cilnidipine, and niclosamide were 3.21, 6.52, and 5.80 µM, respectively, while the selectivity indexes were 38.79, 30.67, and 7.49. FGIN-1-27 and cilnidipine have high efficiency and selectivity against JEV. This study provided two JEV antiviral inhibitors as candidates for treatment of JEV infection.