Influenza virus–host interactomes as a basis for antiviral drug development

• Host factors are attractive targets for antiviral therapy.
• Recent screens identified host factors involved in influenza virus replication.
• Virus–host interactome screens are powerful tools to identify therapeutic targets.

Currently, antiviral drugs that target specific viral protein functions are available for the treatment of influenza; however, concern regarding the emergence of drug-resistant viruses is warranted, as is the urgent need for new antiviral targets, including non-viral targets, such as host cellular factors. Viruses rely on host cellular functions to replicate, and therefore a thorough understanding of the roles of virus–host interactions during influenza virus replication is essential to develop novel anti-influenza drugs that target the host factors involved in virus replication. Here, we review recent studies that used several approaches to identify host factors involved in influenza virus replication. These studies have permitted the construction of an interactome map of virus–host interactions in the influenza virus life cycle, clarifying the entire life cycle of this virus and accelerating the development of new antiviral drugs with a low propensity for the development of resistance.