Vertebrate brains contain a broadly active antiviral substance

Brain tissue extracts from vertebrates were examined for non-specific, broad-spectrum virus inhibitors, previously identified and characterized from other body tissues and fluids. An antiviral activity found in human, bovine, ovine, porcine, lapine, murine and piscine brain tissues shares some prope...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiviral Research 1995-08, Vol.27 (4), p.375-388
Main Authors: Singh, Indra P., Chopra, Ashok K., Coppenhaver, Dorian H., Smith, Edna, Poast, Joyce, Baron, Samuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antiviral agent
Antiviral agents
Antiviral Agents - analysis
Antiviral Agents - chemistry
Antiviral Agents - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Chemistry
Cercopithecus aethiops
Host defense
Humans
Medical sciences
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Sindbis virus
Vero Cells
vertebrata
Virus inhibitor
Viruses - drug effects
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Summary:Brain tissue extracts from vertebrates were examined for non-specific, broad-spectrum virus inhibitors, previously identified and characterized from other body tissues and fluids. An antiviral activity found in human, bovine, ovine, porcine, lapine, murine and piscine brain tissues shares some properties with a contact blocking-virus inhibitor, which was previously found only in cell culture supernatants. The inhibitor was active against (in order of sensitivity to inhibitor) Banzi, Sindbis, Bunyamwera, Newcastle disease, herpes simplex I, Semliki forest, polio I, mengo, vaccinia and vesicular stomatitis viruses. It is approximately 4000 kDa and possesses a complex structure containing protein, carbohydrate and lipid moieties. The inhibitor does not directly neutralize virus or induce an antiviral state in cells, but appears to act early in the replication cycle, most likely by preventing virus attachment to target cells. Its occurrence in concentrations sufficient to reduce virus yield in cell cultures at least 30-fold may indicate a role in limiting viral infections of the central nervous system.
ISSN:0166-3542
1872-9096
DOI:10.1016/0166-3542(95)00021-D