title: Increased Survivorship and Altered Cytokine Profile from Treatment of Influenza A H1N1-Infected Mice with Ekybion: A Drug Complex of Natural Extracts and Inorganic Compounds.
abstract: Ekybion is a drug complex of 16 natural extracts and inorganic compounds designed to treat a variety of respiratory pathogens of bacterial and viral origin. It is licensed throughout Europe for the treatment of respiratory tract infections from equine parainfluenza type 3 and equine herpes virus type 1 in equine stables. The purpose of this paper was to test the efficacy of Ekybion on a well-developed animal model of influenza A infection and determine a mode of action. Experiments were performed with Balb/c mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza A/PR/8/34 H1N1 virus and treated with nebulized Ekybion every 8 h in a time-dependant or dose-dependant fashion. These experiments showed that mice treated prior to infection with Ekybion had a higher survival rates (~46%) compared with untreated animals (~0%). Paradoxically, these mice showed no significant difference in lung virus titer or weight loss. There was, however, a decrease in the level of GM-CSF, IL-6, and G-CSF cytokines in the lungs of Ekybion-treated, infected mice. It is possible that decreases in proinflammatory cytokines may have contributed to increased survivorship in Ekybion-treated influenza-infected mice.
authors.affiliation: Genetics Program, College of Agricultural Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-7303, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lupfer
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Besnouin
authors.forename: Samuel E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Tepper
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maselko
authors.forename: Kristin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pastey