High-Content Screening in hPSC-Neural Progenitors Identifies Drug Candidates that Inhibit Zika Virus Infection in Fetal-like Organoids and Adult Brain (Cell Stem Cell)

Chen, Studer, and colleagues utilize human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitors to perform a high-content screen for anti-ZIKV drug discovery. Hippeastrine hydrobromide was identified and shown to eliminate ZIKV in infected human neural progenitors, rescue a ZIKV-induced microcephaly phenotype in human forebrain organoids, and suppress virus propagation in adult mice with active ZIKV infection.