Antiviral activity of cytokinin-like adenosine derivatives

What is it about?

Cytokinins are a class of plant hormones that promote cell division, or cytokinesis, in plant roots and shoots. They are involved primarily in cell growth and differentiation, but also affect apical dominance, axillary bud growth, and leaf senescence. Natural cytokinins are N6-substituted adenines and their ribonucleoside, ribonucleotide, and glycoside conjugates. In this article, we demonstrate that the number of cytokinin-like compounds exert a potent and selective antiviral effect on the replication of human enterovirus 71. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a virus of the genus Enterovirus in the Picornaviridae family notable for its etiological role in epidemics of severe neurological diseases in children. EV71 is regarded as one of the most important pathogens of human enteroviruses. This virus can cause large outbreaks of the lethal outcomes. In China in 2011, there were more than 1600000 cases of enterovirus infection, which led to 500 deaths. In addition, for chemists may be useful information about the features of synthesis of cytokinin-like compounds.

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