title: Inhibition of replication of the etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (human T-lymphotropic retrovirus/lymphadenopathy-associated virus) by avarol and avarone.
abstract: Avarol and avarone are two antimitotic and antimutagenic agents that preferentially inhibit proliferation of T-cell leukemia lines in vitro. This report shows that these compounds have a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the replication of the etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human T-lymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV-III)/lymphadenopathy-associated virus, in human H9 cells in vitro. Both compounds show a significant cytoprotective effect on HTLV-IIIB-infected H9 cells at concentrations as low as 0.1 microgram/ml (0.3 microM). Both avarone and avarol block in a dose-dependent manner the expression of the p24 and p17 gag proteins of HTLV-III in H9 cells after virus infection and block viral replication, as judged by approximately 80% inhibition of reverse transcriptase activity. These results strongly suggest that these compounds may prove to be useful in the treatment of patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000382:microbiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D053138:Cyclohexenes; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D006678:HIV / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D053138:Cyclohexenes; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C046374:avarone; C023663:avarol