Determining the virus life cycle stage blocked by an antiviral

Abstract

Among the members of the Arenaviridae family, Junin virus and Lassa virus represent important human health threats generating periodic annual outbreaks of severe human hemorrhagic fever (HF) in endemic areas of Argentina and West Africa, respectively. Given the lack of a specific and safe chemotherapy, the search for effective antiviral compounds is a continuous demanding effort. During the last two decades, academic research studies originated important results identifying novel molecules to be considered for further in vivo characterization. This chapter summarizes experimental in vitro approaches used to determine the possible mechanism of action of these antiviral agents.