Development of antiviral therapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome.

A new disease, the severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), emerged at the beginning of 2003 and rapidly spread throughout the world. Although the disease had disappeared in June 2003 its re-emergence cannot be excluded. The development of vaccines against SARS-CoV may take years. Therefore, the availability of effective antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV may be crucial for the control of future SARS outbreaks. In this review, experimental and clinical data about potential anti-SARS drugs is summarised and discussed. Animal model studies will be needed to help to determine which interventions warrant controlled clinical testing.

Antiviral activity of glycyrrhizic acid derivatives against SARS-coronavirus.

Glycyrrhizin (GL) was shown to inhibit SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) replication in vitro. Here the anti-SARS-CoV activity of 15 GL derivatives was tested. The introduction of 2-acetamido-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine into the glycoside chain of GL resulted in 10-fold increased anti-SARS-CoV activity compared to GL. Amides of GL and conjugates of GL with two amino acid residues and a free 30-COOH function presented up to 70-fold increased activity against SARS-CoV but also increased cytotoxicity resulting in decreased selectivity index.

Impact of persistent cytomegalovirus infection on human neuroblastoma cell gene expression.

In a model of human neuroblastoma (NB) cell lines persistently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) we previously showed that persistent HCMV infection is associated with an increased malignant phenotype, enhanced drug resistance, and invasive properties. To gain insights into the mechanisms of increased malignancy we analyzed the global changes in cellular gene expression induced by persistent HCMV infection of human neuroblastoma cells by use of high-density oligonucleotide microarrays (HG-U133A, Affymetrix) and RT-PCR. Comparing the gene expression of different NB cell lines with persistently infected cell sub-lines revealed 11 host cell genes regulated in a similar manner throughout all infected samples. Nine of these 11 genes may contribute to the previously observed changes in malignant phenotype of persistently HCMV infected NB cells by influencing invasive growth, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and proliferation. Thus, this work provides the basis for further functional studies.

The mechanism of 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine resistance to human lymphoid cells.

The human T-lymphoid cell line H9 resistant to 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT) has a very low level of thymidine kinase (TK) expression which accounts for the failure of AZT to inhibit HIV-1 replication. In the present study DNA methylation and histone deacetylation as possible mechanisms of decreased TK gene expression in the resistant cells were investigated. The resistant cells expressed high levels of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) 3a and 3b. The DNA methylation inhibitor, 5-aza-cytidine (5-aza-C), increased TK gene expression and antiviral activity of AZT in the resistant cells, while histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) had no effect. The results suggest that hypermethylation of the TK gene but not histone deacetylation in AZT-resistant H9 cells accounts for decreased TK gene expression and failure of AZT to inhibit HIV-1 replication probably due to overexpression of DNMT 3a and 3b.