title: Potent inhibition of human enterovirus 71 replication by type I interferon subtypes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection can induce a series of syndromes including herpangina, viraemia, hand-foot-and-mouth disease and even death. Outbreaks of EV71 infection have been reported periodically over the world and have caused a great number of casualties and a high medical expenditure. Some interferons (IFNs) have been used for the treatment of viral infections for decades; however, conventional IFNs only display mild anti-EV71 activities. No effective drug is currently available for the treatment of EV71 infection. Here, we aimed to investigate whether some IFN subtypes display potent anti-EV71 activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The antiviral activities of 17 type I IFNs were assayed in Vero cells using the cytopathic effect method. Cells were incubated with different concentrations of type I IFNs before or after virus infection. Viral replication was determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The expression levels of IFN downstream antiviral genes were also measured by qRT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 17 type I IFNs, 4 IFNs (IFN-α4, IFN-α6, IFN-α14 and IFN-α16) displayed potent antiviral activity. Compared with conventional IFN-α2a, IFN-α14 displayed approximately 20× higher antiviral activity. The superior antiviral effect of IFN-α14 was caused by a strong induction of the downstream antiviral effectors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IFN-α14 and three other IFNs could be considered for the treatment of EV71 infection.
authors.affiliation: Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Yaqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hsiang-Fu
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Kung
authors.forename: Ming-Liang
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D029821:Enterovirus A, Human / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology*; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014709:Vero Cells; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007370:Interferon Type I; D020033:Protein Isoforms