Efavirenz: A Potential Drug for Treating Chikungunya

Sub: Sci

Sec: Health sector

Why in News

A recent study has suggested that efavirenz, a drug commonly used to treat HIV/AIDS, may be repurposed to combat chikungunya. This is significant because currently, no approved antiviral treatment exists for chikungunya, and only a few compounds have been tested in animal models.

Key Findings of the Study:

In 2006, around 14 million people were clinically suspected to have chikungunya, with 2,001 confirmed cases.
After a decline in cases post-2014, chikungunya has resurged in large numbers since 2018.
Researchers from IIT Roorkee’s Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering tested efavirenz in both cell cultures and animal models.
The study found that efavirenz significantly reduced the viral load by inhibiting chikungunya virus replication.
In laboratory experiments using Vero cells (a type of cell line), efavirenz inhibited 99% of virus replication, even at low concentrations.
The drug was further tested on human hepatic cell lines (as chikungunya affects liver cells), and similar inhibitory effects were observed.
Efavirenz was also found to inhibit the replication of the Sindbis virus, which is evolutionarily similar to chikungunya.

Efavirenz:

Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) used in antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 infection.
It binds to the reverse transcriptase enzyme, causing conformational changes that inhibit HIV-1 replication.

Vero Cells:

Derived from kidney epithelial cells of the African green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops).
Widely used in virology research, vaccine production, and cytotoxicity testing due to their permissiveness to viruses.

Hepatic Cells:

Hepatic cells, or hepatocytes, are the main functional cells of the liver, comprising about 70-80% of the liver’s cytoplasmic mass.
They play crucial roles in metabolism, detoxification, protein synthesis, and bile production.

Sindbis Virus:

Sindbis virus (SINV) is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Togaviridae family and is considered the prototype alphavirus.
Primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, SINV can infect a varietyof vertebrate hosts.
In humans, SINV infection typically causes mild symptoms such as fever, rash, and arthritis.

Chikungunya:

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) that causes fever and severe joint pain.
The disease was first recognized in 1952 during an outbreak in southern Tanzania.
It is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae.
The name “chikungunya” derives from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “to become contorted”, and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain (arthralgia).
Chikungunya is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected female mosquitoes – Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

What is HIV?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases.
It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex (sex without a condom or HIV medicine to prevent or treat HIV), or through sharing injection drug equipment.
If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists.
However, effective treatment with HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood (also called the viral load) to a very low level.