title: A novel peptide inhibits the influenza virus replication by preventing the viral attachment to the host cells.
abstract: Avian influenza viruses (AIV), the causative agent of avian flu or bird flu, cause widespread morbidity and mortality in poultry. The symptoms of the disease range from mild flu like symptoms to death. These viruses possess two important surface glycoproteins, namely hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) against which neutralizing antibodies are produced. Due to the highly mutative nature of the genes which encode these proteins, the viruses often confer resistance to the current anti-viral drugs making the prevention and treatment of infection challenging. In our laboratory, we have recently identified a novel anti-viral peptide (P1) against the AIV H9N2 from a phage displayed peptide library. This peptide inhibits the replication of the virus in ovo and in vitro by its binding to the HA glycoprotein. In the current study, we demonstrate that the peptide inhibits the virus replication by preventing the attachment to the host cell but it does not have any effect on the viral fusion. The reduction in the viral nucleoprotein (NP) expression inside the host cell has also been observed during the peptide (P1) treatment. This novel peptide may have the potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent for the treatment and control of avian influenza virus H9N2 infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajik
authors.forename: Abdul Rahman
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.forename: Aini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ideris
authors.forename: Sharifah Syed
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Khatijah
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yusoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D004285:Dogs; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D053127:Influenza A Virus, H9N2 Subtype / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016662:Virus Integration / Q000187:drug effects*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides
references.citation: Microbes Infect. 2004 Aug;6(10):929-36
references.pmid: 15310470
references.citation: J Virol. 2005 Mar;79(5):2814-22
references.pmid: 15709000
references.citation: Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248-54
references.pmid: 942051
references.citation: Clin Microbiol Rev. 2006 Jul;19(3):491-511
references.pmid: 16847082
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2005 Dec 22;353(25):2667-72
references.pmid: 16371632
references.citation: J Virol. 2006 Dec;80(24):11960-7
references.pmid: 17005658
references.citation: Virol J. 2009 Jun 05;6:74
references.pmid: 19497129
references.citation: Int J Med Sci. 2005;2(2):87-90
references.pmid: 15968345
references.citation: J Gen Virol. 1986 Dec;67 ( Pt 12):2813-7
references.pmid: 3794667
references.citation: Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2006 Apr;19(2):169-78
references.pmid: 16514342
references.citation: Infect Immun. 1973 Mar;7(3):341-51
references.pmid: 4576677
references.citation: J Gen Virol. 2005 Feb;86(Pt 2):423-433
references.pmid: 15659762
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1993 Mar 23;32(11):2771-9
references.pmid: 8457544
references.citation: JAMA. 2006 Feb 22;295(8):891-4
references.pmid: 16456087
references.citation: Cell. 1981 Nov;26(3 Pt 1):391-400
references.pmid: 7326745
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2005 Sep 29;353(13):1363-73
references.pmid: 16192481
references.citation: Antiviral Res. 2007 Mar;73(3):228-31
references.pmid: 17112602
references.citation: Arch Virol. 2002 May;147(5):981-93
references.pmid: 12021868
references.citation: J Virol. 1993 Sep;67(9):5585-94
references.pmid: 7688826
references.citation: Lancet. 2003 Nov 22;362(9397):1733-45
references.pmid: 14643124
references.citation: Nature. 2005 Oct 20;437(7062):1108
references.pmid: 16228009