Effect of ribavirin on the replication of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in fish cell cultures.
Ribavirin (1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) at concentrations of 10 microgram/ml or more, inhibited the replication of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in both Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE-214) and rainbow trout gonad (RTG-2) cells. The drug was most effective when added just before or within 8 h p.i. Incorporation studies with radioactive precursors demonstrated that ribavirin suppressed cellular DNA and RNA synthesis within 2 to 3 h after addition of the drug. The inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis and the antiviral activity was gradually reversed within 3 to 5 days after removal of the drug from the infected cells. Polyacrylamide slab-gel electrophoresis combined with fluorography revealed that: (i) 0.5 microgram/ml actinomycin D sufficiently inhibited host cell RNA synthesis thereby enabling the study of virus-specific RNA synthesis in infected cells and (ii) ribavirin inhibited the synthesis of all three virus RNA forms: the transcription intermediate, virus mRNA and progeny dsRNA.
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000187:drug effects*; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012263:Ribonucleosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012474:Salmon; D013997:Time Factors; D014337:Trout; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012263:Ribonucleosides; D012254:Ribavirin