Drug Design for the Influenza A Virus Subtype H1N1

In March and April 2009, an outbreak of H1N1 influenza in Mexico led to hundreds of confirmed cases and a number of deaths. The worldwide spread of H1N1 had attracted everyone´s attention and arisen an overwhelm fear. Up to now, there is still an urgent need in the solution for ending this light. In this study, a QSAR model of neuraminidase (NA) type 1 (N1) provides an access. The pharmacophore map of N1 contained two hydrogen bond acceptor features, one hydrogen bond donor features, and one positive ionizable feature. NCI database was screened by this map to find potent inhibitors of N1. Then, those inhibitors were docked into hemagglutinin type 1 to find out the candidate drugs. The candidate drugs selected via computeraided drug designing program may be very useful in this worldwide disease, and further investigations in its clinical and scientific application are urgently needed.