Fungal Metabolites as Potential Antivirals
On Monday, December 15, 2025, a full day of workshops will be held at the Aula Magna, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (DMVPA), University of Naples Federico II, Via Delpino, 1 – Naples, divided into two sessions.
Workshop Part 1: Fungal metabolites as potential antivirals in canine and feline coronaviruses infection: investigation of their activity and mechanism of action
PRIN2022 PNRR Project: Fungal metabolites as potential antivirals in canine and feline coronaviruses infection: investigation of their activity and mechanism of action
Introduces and moderates: Filomena Fiorito, DMVPA, UNINA
This first session focuses on the potential antiviral properties of fungal metabolites. The workshop is organized by Filomena Fiorito (DMVPA, UNINA), Anna Andolfi (DSC, UNINA), Maria Michela Salvatore (DMVPA, UNINA), Luca Del Sorbo (DMVPA, UNINA), and Valentina Iovane (Department of Agriculture, UNINA), with scientific coordination by Filomena Fiorito, Annamaria Pratelli (DiMeV, UNIBA), and Rosa Iacovino (DiSTABiF, UNICAMPANIA).
Program highlights:
- 09:00 – Institutional Greetings – Aniello Anastasio (Director DMVPA, UNINA) & Giuseppe Iovane (General Director, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno)
- 09:30 – The biological labyrinth of coronaviruses: a One Health approach – Nicola Decaro, UNIBA
- 10:15 – An overview of bioactive secondary metabolites – Maria Michela Salvatore, DMVPA, UNINA
- 10:30 – Novel target involved in coronaviruses infection: the role of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor – Luca Del Sorbo, DMVPA, UNINA
- 10:45 – Formyl Peptide Receptors: key regulators of innate immunity – Rosanna Capparelli & Paola Cuomo, Department of Agriculture, UNINA
- 11:00 – Involvement of Formyl Peptide Receptor 2 in canine coronavirus infection – Rosa Giugliano, Valentina Iovane & Antonio Gentile, DMVPA & Department of Agriculture, UNINA
- 11:20 – Conclusions – Filomena Fiorito & Anna Andolfi
- 11:30 – Coffee Break
Scientific Coordinators
- Filomena Fiorito, Principal Investigator – DMVPA, University of Naples Federico II (UNINA)
- Annamaria Pratelli, Unit Coordinator – DiMeV, University of Bari (UNIBA)
Organizing Committee
- Filomena Fiorito – DMVPA, UNINA
- Anna Andolfi – DSC, UNINA
- Maria Michela Salvatore – DMVPA, UNINA
- Luca Del Sorbo – DMVPA, UNINA
- Valentina Iovane – Department of Agricultural Sciences, UNINA
Workshop Part 2: Antiviral activity of drugs and natural compounds evaluated in vitro and in vivo against bovine coronavirus: a translational study to SARS-CoV-2
PRIN2022 Project: Antiviral activity of drugs and natural compounds evaluated in vitro and in vivo against bovine coronavirus: a translational study to SARS-CoV-2
Introduces and moderates: Filomena Fiorito, DMVPA, UNINA and Annamaria Pratelli, DMV, UNIBA
The second session will focus on translational studies investigating the antiviral activity of drugs and natural compounds against bovine coronavirus, with implications for SARS-CoV-2 research.
Program highlights:
- 12:00 – Animal coronaviruses and herpesviruses as models for the study of antiviral compounds – Maria Tempesta, DiMeV, UNIBA
- 12:20 – Exploring a fungal metabolite as a potential bovine coronavirus inhibitor – Violetta Iris Vasinioti, DiMeV, UNIBA
- 12:30 – In solution characterization of β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with fungal metabolites – Rosa Iacovino, Martina Dragone & Gaetano Caputo, DiSTABiF, UNICAMPANIA
- 12:45 – Sphaeropsidins as potential antivirals in BCoV infection – Luca Del Sorbo, DMVPA, UNINA
- 13:00 – In silico analysis of fungal metabolites targeting the bovine Aryl Hydrocarbon receptor – Clementina Acconcia, DMVPA, UNINA
- 13:10 – Conclusions – Annamaria Pratelli, Rosa Iacovino, Anna Andolfi, Filomena Fiorito
- 13:30 – Lunch
Scientific Coordinators
- Annamaria Pratelli, Principal Investigator – DiMeV, University of Bari (UNIBA)
- Rosa Iacovino, Unit Coordinator – DiSTABiF, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (UNICAMPANIA)
- Filomena Fiorito, Unit Coordinator – DMVPA, University of Naples Federico II (UNINA)
Organizing Committee
- Annamaria Pratelli – DiMeV, UNIBA
- Anna Andolfi – DSC, UNINA
- Rosa Iacovino – DiSTABiF, UNICAMPANIA
- Filomena Fiorito – DMVPA, UNINA
These workshops bring together multidisciplinary teams from UNINA, UNIBA, and UNICAMPANIA to discuss innovative research on antiviral compounds, fungal metabolites, and their mechanisms against animal coronaviruses.