FSU biologist on front line of Zika fight
Repositioning already approved drugs may be the quickest way to developing a vaccine and stopping Zika in its tracks.
A Florida State University professor is part of a research team that may have taken the first steps in creating a vaccine to stop Zika. Hengli Tang, a biological science professor in the FSU College of Arts and Science, worked with scientists from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Health on repositioning drugs already approved or undergoing clinical trials. The team reported it has identified nine compounds, medicinal mixtures, that appear to stop the virus from killing fetal brain cells and from reproducing.
The findings were first reported Monday by Nature Medicine.
Little is known about Zika, a mosquito-borne disease first discovered in 1947. The virus has crossed four continents in nine years. It was first reported in the Americas in Brazil in 2014 and has since spread to the United States.
Florida reported its first case in February. As of Monday, the state documented 588 residents with infections, including 75 pregnant women. The virus can lead to catastrophic birth defects including microcephaly – incomplete brain development.
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“The probability of Zika-induced microcephaly occurring doesn’t appear to be that high, but when it does, the damage is horrible,” said Tang.
The World Health Organization reports that since 2015, 53 countries have reported Zika infections. Eleven countries have reported sexual transmission of the disease since February. WHO had declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern in February.
Tang and researcher Hongjun Song of Johns Hopkins explained repurposing already-approved drugs is a quicker alternative than developing a new medicine.
“In this sort of global health emergency, we don’t have time,” said Song. “In this way, we hope to create a therapy much more quickly.”
Of the 6,000 compounds tested, one already on the market showed the ability to inhibit the infection from spreading and reproducing. Nicolsamide has been used for 50 years to treat tapeworm. When applied to the Zika strand that infected Puerto Rico in 2015, it appeared to stop the virus in its tracks.
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Tang said tests are still needed to determine a specific treatment regimen for treating the infection.
Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.