Table 2.

Agents under development that target the host to achieve antiviral and/or immunomodulatory effects.

Potential therapeutic candidates	Antiviral effect	Immunomodulatory effect
Sialidase	Removes sialic acid receptors on the cell surface, blocking interaction with the viral HA	–
Protease inhibitors	Inhibit cleavage of the precursor HA0 into functional HA1/HA2	–
MEK inhibitors	Block the MAPK/ERK protein kinase cascade, suppress the function of nuclear export protein, resulting in nuclear retention of viral RNPs	–
NF-κB and IKK2 inhibitors	Suppress the action of caspase and inhibit the release of viral RNP from the nucleus.	Decrease proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production upon H5N1 infection
	Inhibit SOCS-3 induction, removing the inhibitory effect on ISG production mediated via the JAK/STAT pathway.
COX-2 inhibitors	Suppress viral gene transcription, viral protein expression and progeny virus production in H5N1-infected cells	Attenuate H5N1-hyperinduced cytokines in the proinflammatory cascade
S1P agonists	–	Suppress cytokine release by T-cells and affect the antigen presentation ability of dendritic cells
IPP and PAM expanded gamma-delta T-cells	–	Expanded Vγ9Vδ2 T cell population to enhance the host immune response
PPAR agonists	–	Suppress inflammatory cytokine expression through trans-repression of NF-κB and AP-1
Statins	–	Suppress inducible MHC-II expression and activity of LFA-1