Host Factors Required for Influenza Virus Entry as Antiviral Targets

We aim to identify host cell factors involved in the entry process of different influenza viruses and characterize their mode of action with the overall goal of revealing novel drug targets. We employ RNAi screening methods to identify candidate factors that are followed up in assays measuring the individual steps of viral entry. Moreover, we use proteomic methodology to unravel the phosphorylation-dependent regulatory changes that occur in the host cell early in influenza virus infection and determine their role for virus entry. Using these approaches we have identified proteases and kinases that can be inhibited by small molecular weight compounds and thereby lead to inhibition of viral entry into host cells. Moreover, our work contributes to our understanding of the intricate virus-host interplay during the first steps of the infection process.

Selected publications:

Hunziker et al., Cell Reports 2022

Tripathi et al., Cell Host Microbe, 2015

König R, Stertz S, Zhou Y, et al., Nature, 2010

Edinger, Pohl, Yángüez, Stertz, mBio, 2015

Pohl, Edinger, Stertz, J Virol., 2014

Yángüez, Hunziker, Dobay, et al., Nat Commun., 2018