Treatment of infectious diseases

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods for treating or preventing a disease comprising administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically-effective amount of nitazoxanide to a subject having the disease, wherein the disease is causally linked to infection by one or more pathogens selected from the group consisting of members of the genus Ebolavirus, members of the genus Marburgvirus, members of the species dengue virus, human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2, and members of the species Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

1 . A method of treating a disease comprising administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically-effective amount of nitazoxanide to a subject having the disease in need thereof, wherein the disease is causally linked to infection by one or more pathogens selected from the group consisting of members of the genus  Ebolavirus,  members of the genus  Marburgvirus,  members of the species dengue virus, human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2, and members of the species  Mycobacterium tuberculosis.    
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the disease is causally linked to infection by one or more pathogens selected from the group consisting of members of the genus  Ebolavirus,  members of the genus  Marburgvirus,  members of the species dengue virus, and human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2. 
     
     
         4 . The method of any one of  claim 1 , wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises nitazoxanide as the sole therapeutically-effective ingredient. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises nitazoxanide in combination with another therapeutically-effective ingredient. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the therapeutically-effective amount of nitazoxanide is in the range of 200-3000 milligrams per day. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the administering is oral. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subject is a mammal. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subject is a human. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subject has tuberculosis and HIV infection. 
     
     
         11 . A method of reducing the likelihood of an active recrudescent HIV infection in a subject, wherein the infection has become latent, the method comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically-effective amount of nitazoxanide. 
     
     
         12 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A method of increasing an anti-viral responses in a cell, the method comprising contacting the cell with nitazoxanide. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the anti-viral response comprises an increase in the expression level of a protein in a cell selected from the group consisting of an interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) protein, protein kinase R (PKR), retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 (RIG-I) and growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein (GADD34), 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the IFITM protein is selected from the group consisting of IFITM1, IFITM2, IFITM3, and IFITM5. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the anti-viral response is an anti-viral stress response. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the anti-viral stress response is formation stress granules and/or increase in cellular acidity. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the anti-viral response is an increase of phosphorylation of eIF2α. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the contacting is in vitro. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the contacting is in vivo. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the in vivo contacting is done in a mammal. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the mammal is a human.