title: Efficacy of aerosolized recombinant interferons against vesicular stomatitis virus-induced lung infection in cotton rats.
abstract: Cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were inoculated intranasally with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and exposed to different regimens of small particle aerosols of either recombinant human alpha interferon A (rIFN-alpha A) or hybrid recombinant human alpha interferon A/D (rIFN-alpha A/D). Preliminary in vitro tests indicated that both recombinant IFNs were effective in protecting primary cotton rat pulmonary cells against VSV replication. However, rIFN-alpha A/D was 20-fold more active than rIFN-alpha A in these tests. In the in vivo tests, in contrast to control animals inoculated with VSV, but not treated, or treated only with aerosols of saline, animals exposed to either rIFN-alpha A or -alpha A/D for 8 h per day before and/or following VSV inoculation had no detectable virus titers in their lungs. In experiments in which groups of animals were treated for shorter periods, rIFN-alpha A was less effective than rIFN-alpha A/D in suppressing replication of VSV in lungs of these animals.
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae; D005260:Female; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D007370:Interferon Type I