FIG 1.

Identification of the 5-HT6 antagonist SB258585 as a new inhibitor of the HCV life cycle. (A to C) An HCS screen with a library of 1,120 chemical compounds was performed at three different concentrations (1 μM, 10 μM, and 20 μM). Dot plots show the distributions of the populations on the bases of cell number and percentage of HCVcc JFH1 (genotype 2a)-infected cells at the indicated concentrations. Each dot represents one compound. Green lines represent the average values corresponding to DMSO control wells. Red lines represent the selected cutoffs determining the positive hits (light red squares). (D) Summary of the positive hits selected according to the cutoffs for each concentration. The red circle indicates compounds confirmed as positive hits for at least two concentrations. (E) Graph showing percentages of HCVcc infection corresponding to the wells treated with chemical compounds targeting 5-HT6 in a more or less specific way, normalized to the mean for the DMSO control wells at each concentration. The green line corresponds to the compound SB258585 hydrochloride. (F) Wells corresponding to DMSO and SB258585 for each concentration of the screen. Nuclei are shown in blue, and HCV E1 staining is shown in green.