lactoferrin and Hantavirus-Infections

Hantaviruses, members of the order

Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Amides; Animals; Antiviral Agents; Clinical Trials as Topic; Hantavirus Infections; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome; Humans; Immunotherapy; Lactoferrin; Models, Animal; Nucleosides; Orthohantavirus; Piperidines; Pyrazines; Quinazolines; Recombinant Proteins; Ribavirin; Triazoles; Vaccines, Synthetic; Viral Vaccines

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome are zoonotic diseases caused by rodent borne hantaviruses. Transmission to humans occurs usually by inhalation of aerozolized virus-contaminated rodent excreta. Although human-to-human transmission of Andes hantavirus has been observed, the mode of transmission is currently not known. Saliva from Puumala hantavirus (PUUV)-infected patients was shown recently to contain viral RNA. To test if human saliva interferes with hantavirus replication, the effect of saliva and salivary proteins on hantavirus replication was studied. It was observed that saliva from healthy individuals reduced Hantaan hantavirus (HTNV) infectivity, although not completely. Furthermore, HTNV was resistant against the antiviral capacity of histatin 5, lysozyme, lactoferrin, and SLPI, but was inhibited by mucin. Inoculation of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) with HFRS-patient saliva, positive for PUUV-RNA, did not induce sero-conversion. In conclusion, no evidence of infectious virus in patient saliva was found. However, the in vitro experiments showed that HTNV, the prototype hantavirus, is insensitive to several antiviral salivary proteins, and is partly resistant to the antiviral effect of saliva. It therefore remains to be shown if human saliva might contain infectious virions early during infection, that is, before seroconversion.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Arvicolinae; Hantavirus Infections; Histatins; Humans; Lactoferrin; Mucins; Muramidase; Orthohantavirus; Saliva; Virus Replication

Mechanisms of anti-hantaviral activities of bovine lactoferrin (LF) and ribavirin (Rbv) were investigated. Hantavirus focus formation at 48 hr was 15% of the control in cells treated with 400 microg/ml LF for 1 hr at 37 degrees C prior to viral infection. Post infection treatment with 100 microg/ml Rbv also inhibited the focus formation to 2.5% of the control. Combined LF pre- and Rbv post-infection treatment completely inhibited focus formation. Viral glycoprotein (G2) and nucleocapsid protein (NP) syntheses were delayed in LF pretreated cells up to 24 hr post infection (hpi) but became comparable to the control by 48 hpi. Further, LF inhibited viral shedding at 24 hpi but did not inhibit shedding after 48 hpi. However, Rbv was able to inhibit synthesis of viral proteins, (+) and (-) strand RNAs also inhibited viral shedding after 24 hr. These results suggest that LF inhibits viral adsorption to cells, while Rbv inhibits viral RNA synthesis. For in vivo trials of LF and Rbv, LF pre- and Rbv post-treatment were evaluated in suckling mice infected with hantavirus, of which 7% survived. LF concentrations of 40 and 160 mg/kg administered prior to viral challenge improved survival rates to 15% and 70%, respectively for single administration and 85% and 94%, respectively, for double administration. Rbv concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/kg gave survival rates of 68% and 81%, respectively. This suggests that both LF and Rbv are efficacious in hantavirus infection in vivo.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Blotting, Northern; Chlorocebus aethiops; Hantavirus Infections; Humans; Lactoferrin; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Microscopy, Confocal; Nucleocapsid Proteins; Orthohantavirus; Public Health; Ribavirin; RNA, Viral; Vero Cells; Viral Fusion Proteins