title: Treatment of SARS with human interferons.
abstract: Effective antiviral agents are needed to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection. We assessed the antiviral potential of recombinant interferons against two clinical isolates of SARS-CoV--FFM-1, from Frankfurt patients, and Hong Kong--replicated in Vero and Caco2 cells. Interferon beta was five to ten times more effective in Caco2 cells. Interferon alpha effectively inhibited SARS-CoV replication, but with a selectivity index 50-90 times lower than that for interferon beta. Interferon gamma was slightly better than interferon alpha in Vero cell cultures, but was completely ineffective in Caco2 cell cultures. Interferon beta could be useful alone or in combination with other antiviral drugs for the treatment of SARS.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Virology, Frankfurt University Medical School, Paul-Ehrlich Strasse 40, D-60596, Frankfurt, Germany. cinatl@em.uni-frankfurt.de <cinatl@em.uni-frankfurt.de>
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cinatl
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rabenau
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Doerr
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / Q000187:drug effects; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016899:Interferon-beta; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D007372:Interferons