title: Inhibitory effect of biphalin and AZT on murine Friend leukemia virus infection in vitro.
abstract: Biphalin is a bivalent opioid analogue containing two tyrosine residues. We have examined the effect of biphalin's anti-retroviral potency in vitro using a murine model. Biphalin, in non-cytotoxic concentrations, suppressed in a dose-dependent fashion the replication of Friend leukemia virus (FLV) in Mus dunni cells as determined using a focus forming assay. FLV replication was substantially reduced by biphalin at 10(-4) M concentration. When biphalin was combined with 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) the two acted synergistically in inhibiting FLV replication compared to either used alone. Using a reverse transcriptase (RT) assay, FLV RT levels also were noted to be reduced in the presence of biphalin. These observations indicate that biphalin possesses anti-retroviral activity in vitro, suggesting that this opioid peptide should be examined further in vivo to determine if it is a candidate for combined therapy with AZT and possibly other drugs for retrovirus infections including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa 33612, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Lipkowski
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Specter
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005622:Friend murine leukemia virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000378:metabolism; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004745:Enkephalins; D015215:Zidovudine; C053673:biphalin; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase