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Research published in PLOS Pathogens suggests that emetine, a drug once used to treat amebiasis and induce vomiting in cases of poisoning, may also halt replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Although there are drugs available to treat CMV, they can cause serious toxicity.
Furthermore, resistant strains of CMV can emerge, creating “a desperate need for other ways to control this virus,” according to Ravit Boger, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr Boger and her colleagues decided to search for drugs to treat CMV by screening 1280 pharmacologically active compounds already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The researchers found a “hit” with emetine, a drug that was used in the past to treat amebiasis before other drugs took its place decades ago.
Results showed that emetine can inhibit CMV at much lower doses than those used for amebiasis, and less frequent doses might be effective for CMV inhibition as well.
In vitro and in vivo tests showed that very low doses of emetine significantly reduced viral replication—75 nm in vitro and 0.1 mg/kg in mice.
Furthermore, with a half-life of 35 hours, the drug exerted its effects over a sustained period, effectively inhibiting virus replication at 14 days after 3 doses.
Additional investigation revealed that emetine’s action against CMV was due to its effects on proteins that control the cell cycle.
Dr Boger cautioned that there is a long way to go before emetine or similar agents can be considered for the treatment of CMV.
“But if further research affirms its potential value, emetine might eventually be used in patients who don’t respond to approved anti-CMV drugs, alone or in combination with these,” she said.
Dr Boger and her colleagues also believe that gaining a better understanding of emetine’s activity in cells could lead to the discovery of new drugs that take advantage of the same or similar pathways. 
Image by Ed Uthman
Research published in PLOS Pathogens suggests that emetine, a drug once used to treat amebiasis and induce vomiting in cases of poisoning, may also halt replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Although there are drugs available to treat CMV, they can cause serious toxicity.
Furthermore, resistant strains of CMV can emerge, creating “a desperate need for other ways to control this virus,” according to Ravit Boger, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr Boger and her colleagues decided to search for drugs to treat CMV by screening 1280 pharmacologically active compounds already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The researchers found a “hit” with emetine, a drug that was used in the past to treat amebiasis before other drugs took its place decades ago.
Results showed that emetine can inhibit CMV at much lower doses than those used for amebiasis, and less frequent doses might be effective for CMV inhibition as well.
In vitro and in vivo tests showed that very low doses of emetine significantly reduced viral replication—75 nm in vitro and 0.1 mg/kg in mice.
Furthermore, with a half-life of 35 hours, the drug exerted its effects over a sustained period, effectively inhibiting virus replication at 14 days after 3 doses.
Additional investigation revealed that emetine’s action against CMV was due to its effects on proteins that control the cell cycle.
Dr Boger cautioned that there is a long way to go before emetine or similar agents can be considered for the treatment of CMV.
“But if further research affirms its potential value, emetine might eventually be used in patients who don’t respond to approved anti-CMV drugs, alone or in combination with these,” she said.
Dr Boger and her colleagues also believe that gaining a better understanding of emetine’s activity in cells could lead to the discovery of new drugs that take advantage of the same or similar pathways.
Image by Ed Uthman
Research published in PLOS Pathogens suggests that emetine, a drug once used to treat amebiasis and induce vomiting in cases of poisoning, may also halt replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Although there are drugs available to treat CMV, they can cause serious toxicity.
Furthermore, resistant strains of CMV can emerge, creating “a desperate need for other ways to control this virus,” according to Ravit Boger, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr Boger and her colleagues decided to search for drugs to treat CMV by screening 1280 pharmacologically active compounds already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The researchers found a “hit” with emetine, a drug that was used in the past to treat amebiasis before other drugs took its place decades ago.
Results showed that emetine can inhibit CMV at much lower doses than those used for amebiasis, and less frequent doses might be effective for CMV inhibition as well.
In vitro and in vivo tests showed that very low doses of emetine significantly reduced viral replication—75 nm in vitro and 0.1 mg/kg in mice.
Furthermore, with a half-life of 35 hours, the drug exerted its effects over a sustained period, effectively inhibiting virus replication at 14 days after 3 doses.
Additional investigation revealed that emetine’s action against CMV was due to its effects on proteins that control the cell cycle.
Dr Boger cautioned that there is a long way to go before emetine or similar agents can be considered for the treatment of CMV.
“But if further research affirms its potential value, emetine might eventually be used in patients who don’t respond to approved anti-CMV drugs, alone or in combination with these,” she said.
Dr Boger and her colleagues also believe that gaining a better understanding of emetine’s activity in cells could lead to the discovery of new drugs that take advantage of the same or similar pathways.