title: Activity of superior interferon α against HIV-1 in severe combined immunodeficient mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interferon (IFN) can inhibit human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in vitro and in clinic. However, IFN therapy for HIV infection was limited by its moderate antiviral efficacy and its frequent adverse effects. In the present study we evaluated the anti-HIV efficacy of a novel synthesized superior interferon α (sIFNα).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed in vitro experiments with HIV-1 IIIB infected MT4 cells, and evaluated in vivo anti-HIV efficacy of sIFNα in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu-PBL-SCID mice).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the 50% effective concentrations (EC(50)) of sIFNα against the replication of HIV-1 in MT4 cells was 0.06 ng/ml, representing stronger antiviral activity than interferon-α in vitro. In the hu-PBL-SCID mice, a dose-dependent protection pattern was observed: with 0.45 µg and 1.35 µg sIFNα daily treatments, parts of SCID mice were protected from HIV infection, whereas 2.25 µg sIFNα daily treatments resulted in a terminally complete protection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  sIFNα shows good anti-HIV activity both in vitro and in SCID mice, may be a promising anti-HIV agent deserving clinical investigation, especially considering the potential of IFN-α to inhibit HIV replication in patients infected with drug-resistant variants or co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of HIV Molecular Epidemiology and Virology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institution of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakasone
authors.forename: Xue-Tian
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Xin-Yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Rong-Ge
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha