title: Antiviral activity of Ladania067, an extract from wild black currant leaves against influenza A virus in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Influenza, a respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses, still represents a major threat to humans and several animal species. Besides vaccination, only two classes of drugs are available for antiviral treatment against this pathogen. Thus, there is a strong need for new effective antivirals against influenza viruses. Here, we tested Ladania067, an extract from the leaves of the wild black currant (Ribes nigrum folium) for potential antiviral activity against influenza A virus in vitro and in vivo. In the range of 0-1 mg/ml the extract showed no cytotoxic effect on three cell lines and a CC50 of 0.5 ± 0.3 mg/ml, on peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Furthermore, the extract did not influence the proliferative status of human lymphocytes. In contrast, Ladania067 was highly effective (EC50 value: 49.3 ± 1.1 ng/ml) against the human pandemic influenza virus strain A/Regensburg/D6/09 (H1N1). The extract exhibited an antiviral effect when the virus was pre-incubated prior to infection or when added directly after infection. No antiviral effect was found when infected cells were treated 2, 4, or 8 h after infection, indicating that Ladania067 blocks a very early step in the virus infection cycle. In the mouse infection model we were able to demonstrate that an intranasal application of 500 μg Ladania067 inhibits progeny virus titers in the lung up to 85% after 24 h. We conclude that the extract from the leaves of the wild black currant may be a promising source for the identification of new molecules with antiviral functions against influenza virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haasbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hartmayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hettler
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarnecka
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wulle
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Virology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation, University of Muenster Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ehrhardt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Virology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation, University of Muenster Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Planz
keywords: antiviral compound; in vivo; influenza A virus; plant extract; prophylactic treatment