There is a large, global unmet need for the development of countermeasures to combat intracellular pathogens. The development of novel antimicrobials is expensive and slow and typically focuses on selective inhibition of proteins encoded by a single pathogen, thereby providing a narrow spectrum of coverage. The repurposing of approved drugs targeting host functions required for microbial infections represents a promising alternative. This review summarizes progress and challenges in the repurposing of approved drugs as host-targeted broad-spectrum agents for the treatment of intracellular pathogens. These strategies include targeting both cellular factors required for infection by various viruses, intracellular bacteria, and/or protozoa as well as factors that modulate the host immune response to these microbial infections. The repurposed approach offers complementary means to develop therapeutics against existing and emerging intracellular microbial threats.

中文翻译：

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与重新定向的宿主靶向药物对抗细胞内病原体

对于对抗细胞内病原体的对策的发展，全球存在巨​​大的未满足的需求。新型抗微生物药物的开发昂贵且缓慢，并且通常集中于选择性抑制单一病原体编码的蛋白质，从而提供较窄的覆盖范围。重新批准针对微生物感染所需宿主功能的批准药物代表了一种有前途的选择。这篇综述总结了将已批准的药物用作治疗细胞内病原体的宿主靶向广谱药物的进展和挑战。这些策略包括针对各种病毒，细胞内细菌和/或原生动物感染所需的细胞因子，以及调节宿主对这些微生物感染的免疫应答的因子。