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. 2004 Apr;10(4):581-6.
doi: 10.3201/eid1004.030458.

Inhibition of SARS coronavirus infection in vitro with clinically approved antiviral drugs

Emily L C Tan  1 , Eng Eong Ooi, Chin-Yo Lin, Hwee Cheng Tan, Ai Ee Ling, Bing Lim, Lawrence W Stanton
Affiliations

Inhibition of SARS coronavirus infection in vitro with clinically approved antiviral drugs

Emily L C Tan et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an infectious disease caused by a newly identified human coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Currently, no effective drug exists to treat SARS-CoV infection. In this study, we investigated whether a panel of commercially available antiviral drugs exhibit in vitro anti-SARS-CoV activity. A drug-screening assay that scores for virus-induced cytopathic effects on cultured cells was used. Tested were 19 clinically approved compounds from several major antiviral pharmacologic classes: nucleoside analogs, interferons, protease inhibitors, reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and neuraminidase inhibitors. Complete inhibition of cytopathic effects of SARS-CoV in culture was observed for interferon subtypes, b-1b, a-n1, a-n3, and human leukocyte interferon a. These findings support clinical testing of approved interferons for the treatment of SARS.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Microscopic appearance of control (a) and infected (b) Vero E6 cells demonstrating cytopathic effects.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dose-response curves for Alferon (a), Betaferon (b), and Multiferon (c) as determined by plaque reduction assays. IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) and IC95 (95% inhibitory concentration) values were calculated by using the fitted functions describing the curves.
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