UIC researchers have successfully repurposed the FDA-approved cancer drug doxorubicin to treat drug-resistant herpes. Their research is published in the journal Drug Resistance Updates.
“This opens up an unexpected and potentially rapid path toward treating drug-resistant herpes infections,” said study leader Deepak Shukla, a virologist at the School of Medicine. “HSV-1 infection has serious and sometimes life-threatening consequences, and this drug has the potential to save lives.”
Immune-compromised patients, including cancer patients, are particularly vulnerable to HSV-1 infection, which can lead to brain inflammation and organ failure if left untreated. Drug-resistant strains are especially difficult to eradicate.
In 2024, Shukla’s team created HerpDock, a digital tool that combs through compounds and flags those that may be effective against herpes infections. The program issued a warning about doxorubicin, a known anti-cancer drug.
We were excited when we learned that doxorubicin was already approved by the FDA. This is important because its safety profile and dosage are already well understood. This drug could reach clinicians and patients much faster than an entirely new discovery. ”
Deepak Shukla, Virologist, UIC School of Medicine
Shukla said that in experimental tests, the drug consistently blocked HSV-1 infection across multiple HSV-1 infection strains, including human cells, tissue models, and mouse models. It also blocked strains resistant to acyclovir, a standard anti-herpes drug.
Doxorubicin also works in conjunction with acyclovir, which can cause kidney damage if taken in large doses. Combining doxorubicin with a lower dose of acyclovir may make the treatment process smoother for patients.
Doxorubicin works by targeting PI3K-AKT-mTOR, a pathway that viruses use to enter and take over cells, rather than targeting the herpesvirus itself.
“We were excited to learn how doxorubicin stops the virus at its source,” said postdoctoral researcher and first author Pankaj Sharma.
Co-author and UIC graduate student researcher Divya Kapur said working on the project helped her develop her paper and learn new techniques.
“It was fun to be a part of something that could really help people,” she said. “This discovery has the potential to prevent herpes-related deaths and improve patient outcomes around the world, including for cancer patients using doxorubicin.”
Other UIC authors include Sudhanshu Kumar Singh, Xiang Shen, and Chandrashekhar D. Patil from the School of Medicine.
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University of Illinois at Chicago
