scholarly journals INHIBITION OF INFLUENZA VIRUS MULTIPLICATION BY ALKYL DERIVATIVES OF BENZIMIDAZOLE

1953 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Tamm ◽  
Karl Folkers ◽  
Frank L. Horsfall

The activity of compounds which inhibit the multiplication of influenza virus can be measured in chorioallantoic membrane cultures in vitro by means of hemagglutination titrations on the medium. Studies on the reproducibility of virus reproduction in membrane cultures have revealed the major variables which affect the results and thus have led to the development of a precise technique. Under strictly controlled experimental conditions, the extent of reproduction of the virus in membrane cultures is predictable within narrow limits of variation. With 105.5 EID50 of influenza B virus, Lee strain, and 5.75 cm.2 of chorioallantoic membrane per ml., the ratio of infective virus particles to susceptible allantoic cells appears to be approximately 1:28. Under these conditions, the evidence indicates that two cycles of multiplication occur and nearly maximal hemagglutination titers are found with culture medium at 36 hours. The extent of the deviation in the absolute titer in different experiments was only 0.112 log unit. At a concentration of 0.0017 M, 2,5-dimethylbenzimidazole caused inhibition of the multiplication of influenza B virus, Lee strain, which persisted for at least 70 hours as measured by hemagglutination titrations on the culture medium. The degree of inhibition was closely comparable to that demonstrated by infectivity titrations on the membrane at the end of the first cycle of virus reproduction (1).

1961 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Tamm ◽  
Rostom Bablanian ◽  
Marjorie M. Nemes ◽  
Clifford H. Shunk ◽  
Franklin M. Robinson ◽  
...  

The virus inhibitory activity and selectivity of certain benzimidazole, benzotriazole, and naphthimidazole derivatives were determined with influenza B and polio type 2 viruses. Among the sixty-five compounds examined, several were highly active inhibitors of influenza B virus multiplication in the chorioallantoic membrane in vitro. The following compounds, listed in order of increasing inhibitory activity, were more than 100 times as active as benzimidazole: 5-(4'-toluenesulfonamido)-benzimidazole, 5-hydroxybenzotriazole-4-carboxy-α-naphthylamide, 4,5,6-trichlorobenzotriazole, 5-(3',4'-dichlorobenzenesulfonamido)-benzimidazole, 5-(3',4'-dichlorobenzenesulfonamido) - 1 - (3'',4'' - dichlorobenzenesulfonyl)-benzimidazole, 4-(p-chlorophenylazo)-5-hydroxybenzotriazole, and 4,5,6,7-tetrachlorobenzotriazole. However, none showed high selectivity. Of the sixty-five compounds studied with influenza virus, twenty-five were also examined with poliovirus type 2 in monkey kidney cells in vitro. Included in this group were five of the seven most active inhibitors of influenza virus, listed above. All five were more than 100 times as active in inhibiting poliovirus multiplication as the reference compound. In addition to these, two other compounds were highly active: 2-(α-hydroxybenzyl)-benzimidazole (HBB), and 2-(α-hydroxybenzyl)-5-chlorobenzimidazole, with relative inhibitory activities of 78 and 130, respectively. These two compounds, and the much less active 5,6-dichloro derivative of HBB, were the only ones which showed no, or only slight, toxic effects on cells at concentrations sufficient to cause considerable inhibition of poliovirus multiplication. Furthermore, HBB and the 5-chloro derivative were the only compounds which caused significant inhibition of the cytopathic effects of poliovirus. HBB, and its 5-chloro and 5,6-dichloro derivatives had no effect on the multiplication of influenza B virus in the chorioallantoic membrane. In addition, HBB failed to inhibit influenza B virus multiplication and cytopathic effects in monkey kidney cells. Inhibition of poliovirus-induced cell damage by HBB was characterized by the following features: the curves relating reduction in virus yield or cytopathic effects to concentration of the compound followed an approximately parallel course; somewhat higher concentrations were required to inhibit virus-induced cell damage than to reduce virus yield. HBB suppressed viral cytopathic effects for a period of time which varied directly with the concentration of compound, and inversely with the size of virus inoculum. The development of virus-induced cell damage in treated cultures on prolonged incubation was not due to inactivation of HBB. The inhibitory effect of HBB on virus-induced cell damage was reversible by removal of the compound. HBB inhibited viral cytopathic effects when given during the exponential increase phase in virus multiplication. Inhibition of virus-induced cell damage by HBB was demonstrated by photomicrographs. HBB did not inactivate the infectivity of poliovirus type 2.


1953 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Tamm ◽  
Karl Folkers ◽  
Frank L. Horsfall

At a concentration of 0.0026 M, 2,5-dimethylbenzimidazole caused a number of alterations in the first cycle of multiplication of influenza B virus, Lee strain, in chorioallantoic membrane cultures in vitro. As determined by infectivity titrations in ovo on the membrane per se, the following alterations were observed: The duration of the latent period was increased by 80 per cent. The rate of increase in titer during the incremental period was somewhat decreased. The yield of virus was decreased by about 99 per cent. When the compound was added to membrane cultures at various periods before or after inoculation with the virus, the following findings were obtained: On addition before or along with the virus, the substance caused about 99 per cent inhibition of multiplication. When added during the first 2 hours after inoculation, the compound caused inhibition of a degree which was inversely proportional to the time of addition. When added 3 to 8 hours after inoculation, the substance caused about 80 per cent inhibition. When added after the end of the latent period, no definite inhibition was obtained in the first cycle of multiplication. These results are interpreted as indicating that 2,5-dimethylbenzimidazole acts by reducing the rate of biosynthetic mechanisms necessary for the reproduction of influenza virus particles.


1953 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Tamm ◽  
Karl Folkers ◽  
Clifford H. Shunk ◽  
Dorothea Heyl ◽  
Frank L. Horsfall

The degree of inhibition of multiplication of influenza B virus, Lee strain, in membrane cultures in vitro appears to be directly related to the concentration of the inhibitory compounds used in this investigation. With each of the alkyl derivatives of benzimidazole, evidence for such a relationship was obtained in the range between 60 and 90 per cent inhibition of virus multiplication. Alteration of the structure of benzimidazole by substitution of alkyl radicals at various positions in either the benzene or the imidazole ring resulted in diverse differences in the capacity to inhibit influenza virus multiplication in vitro. Minor increases in inhibitory activity resulted when one to three methyl groups were introduced at certain positions in the molecule. Marked increases in inhibitory activity were achieved by more extensive substitution in either the benzene or the imidazole ring. The position and nature of substituent groups appeared to be of decisive importance. Among the more highly active compounds were 2,4,5,6,7-pentamethyl-benzimidazole, 5,6-diethylbenzimidazole, and 2-ethyl-5-methylbenzimidazole. Further extension of the alkyl chain at position 2 caused no significant change in the inhibitory activity of the derivative. The most active compounds studied caused 75 per cent inhibition of Lee virus multiplication in membrane cultures in vitro at concentrations of approximately 0.0002 M. Some of the implications of these findings are discussed.


1957 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. B. Finter ◽  
P. Armitage

1. The membrane piece technique for in vitro titrations of the infectivity of influenza virus is described. Rectangles of shell, about 8 × 25 mm., with the chorio-allantoic membrane still attached (membrane pieces) are cut from thirteenth-day fertile eggs. One piece in a test-tube with glucose-buffered salt solution forms an individual assay unit. Five or more tubes are inoculated with each virus dilution. After incubation at 37° C. for 72 hr., with agitation for the first 24 hr. the fluid in each tube is tested for haemagglutinins. From the results at each dilution, an estimate of the 50% membrane piece (MP50) infectivity titre is obtained.2. Six hundred assay units, with pieces cut from twenty eggs, can be set up by two workers in 1 hr. and used for titration of between three and twenty-four individual virus preparations, depending on the reliability desired for the 50% end-point estimates.3. With the D.S.P. and PR 8 strains of influenza A virus, the MP50 titres parallel the EID50 titres from egg titrations, but are eight times and twenty times lower, respectively. The MP50: EID50 ratio is the same for various preparations of the same strain, including standard allantoic fluid and chorio-allantoic membrane virus, incomplete virus, and inactivated (heated) allantoic fluid virus. Preliminary experiments with Lee influenza B virus show that slightly different experimental conditions are required, and the MP50 titres are about fifty times less than the EID50 titres.4. Consistent results have been obtained on titration of samples of the same virus preparation on a number of occasions over a period of several months.5. A large number of membrane pieces can be used to test each virus dilution, and sampling variations in the MP50 estimates thus made quite small. Statistical data on the reliability of a 50 % titration result, and on the minimum significant differences between two end-points, are given for different values of n, the number of membrane pieces used to test each virus dilution, and of d, the log dilution step.We are grateful to Mr J. Collins for invaluable technical assistance, and also to Miss I. Allen for help with the computations.


Author(s):  
Pınar YAZICI ÖZKAYA ◽  
Eşe Eda TURANLI ◽  
Hamdi METİN ◽  
Ayça Aydın UYSAL ◽  
Candan ÇİÇEK ◽  
...  

1978 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Masurel ◽  
J. I. de Bruijne ◽  
H. A. Beuningh ◽  
H. J. A. Schouten

SUMMARYHaemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies against the influenza viruses A/Hong Kong/8/68 (H3N2) and B/Nederland/77/66 were determined in 420 paired sera from mothers and newborns (umbilical cord sera), sampled in 1970–1.A higher concentration of antibodies against influenza A virus was found more frequently in neonatal than in maternal sera. By contrast, low titres against influenza B virus were more frequently observed in neonatal than in maternal sera. Maternal age, duration of pregnancy, and birth-weight did not affect the results of the tests.It is suggested that the titre of the newborn against an epidemic influenza virus can be predicted from that of the mother. Furthermore, the maternal titre may be an indication of the susceptibility of the newborn infant to influenza infections.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira C. Patel ◽  
Kari Ann Shirey ◽  
Marina S. Boukhvalova ◽  
Stefanie N. Vogel ◽  
Jorge C. G. Blanco

ABSTRACT Host-derived “danger-associated molecular patterns” (DAMPs) contribute to innate immune responses and serve as markers of disease progression and severity for inflammatory and infectious diseases. There is accumulating evidence that generation of DAMPs such as oxidized phospholipids and high-mobility-group box 1 (HMGB1) during influenza virus infection leads to acute lung injury (ALI). Treatment of influenza virus-infected mice and cotton rats with the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonist Eritoran blocked DAMP accumulation and ameliorated influenza virus-induced ALI. However, changes in systemic HMGB1 kinetics during the course of influenza virus infection in animal models and humans have yet to establish an association of HMGB1 release with influenza virus infection. To this end, we used the cotton rat model that is permissive to nonadapted strains of influenza A and B viruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human rhinoviruses (HRVs). Serum HMGB1 levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) prior to infection until day 14 or 18 post-infection. Infection with either influenza A or B virus resulted in a robust increase in serum HMGB1 levels that decreased by days 14 to 18. Inoculation with the live attenuated vaccine FluMist resulted in HMGB1 levels that were significantly lower than those with infection with live influenza viruses. RSV and HRVs showed profiles of serum HMGB1 induction that were consistent with their replication and degree of lung pathology in cotton rats. We further showed that therapeutic treatment with Eritoran of cotton rats infected with influenza B virus significantly blunted serum HMGB1 levels and improved lung pathology, without inhibiting virus replication. These findings support the use of drugs that block HMGB1 to combat influenza virus-induced ALI. IMPORTANCE Influenza virus is a common infectious agent causing serious seasonal epidemics, and there is urgent need to develop an alternative treatment modality for influenza virus infection. Recently, host-derived DAMPs, such as oxidized phospholipids and HMGB1, were shown to be generated during influenza virus infection and cause ALI. To establish a clear link between influenza virus infection and HMGB1 as a biomarker, we have systematically analyzed temporal patterns of serum HMGB1 release in cotton rats infected with nonadapted strains of influenza A and B viruses and compared these patterns with a live attenuated influenza vaccine and infection by other respiratory viruses. Towards development of a new therapeutic modality, we show herein that blocking serum HMGB1 levels by Eritoran improves lung pathology in influenza B virus-infected cotton rats. Our study is the first report of systemic HMGB1 as a potential biomarker of severity in respiratory virus infections and confirms that drugs that block virus-induced HMGB1 ameliorate ALI.


2020 ◽  
pp. 153537022096379
Author(s):  
Oraphan Mayuramart ◽  
Pattaraporn Nimsamer ◽  
Somruthai Rattanaburi ◽  
Naphat Chantaravisoot ◽  
Kritsada Khongnomnan ◽  
...  

Due to the common symptoms of COVID-19, patients are similar to influenza-like illness. Therefore, the detection method would be crucial to discriminate between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus-infected patients. In this study, CRISPR-Cas12a-based detection was applied for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A virus, and influenza B virus which would be a practical and attractive application for screening of patients with COVID-19 and influenza in areas with limited resources. The limit of detection for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B detection was 10, 103, and 103 copies/reaction, respectively. Moreover, the assays yielded no cross-reactivity against other respiratory viruses. The results revealed that the detection of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 by using RT-RPA and CRISPR-Cas12a technology reaches 96.23% sensitivity and 100% specificity for SARS-CoV-2 detection. The sensitivity for influenza virus A and B detections was 85.07% and 94.87%, respectively. In addition, the specificity for influenza virus A and B detections was approximately 96%. In conclusion, the RT-RPA with CRISPR-Cas12a assay was an effective method for the screening of influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 which could be applied to detect other infectious diseases in the future.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (21) ◽  
pp. 10580-10590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Hai ◽  
Luis Martínez-Sobrido ◽  
Kathryn A. Fraser ◽  
Juan Ayllon ◽  
Adolfo García-Sastre ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Type B influenza viruses can cause substantial morbidity and mortality in the population, and vaccination remains by far the best means of protection against infections with these viruses. Here, we report the construction of mutant influenza B viruses for potential use as improved live-virus vaccine candidates. Employing reverse genetics, we altered the NS1 gene, which encodes a type I interferon (IFN) antagonist. The resulting NS1 mutant viruses induced IFN and, as a consequence, were found to be attenuated in vitro and in vivo. The absence of pathogenicity of the NS1 mutants in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 PKR−/− mice was confirmed. We also provide evidence that influenza B virus NS1 mutants induce a self-adjuvanted immune response and confer effective protection against challenge with both homologous and heterologous B virus strains in mice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (18) ◽  
pp. 9689-9692 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Ching Sam ◽  
Yvonne C. F. Su ◽  
Yoke Fun Chan ◽  
Siti Sarah Nor'E ◽  
Ardalinah Hassan ◽  
...  

Influenza B virus causes significant disease but remains understudied in tropical regions. We sequenced 72 influenza B viruses collected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 1995 to 2008. The predominant circulating lineage (Victoria or Yamagata) changed every 1 to 3 years, and these shifts were associated with increased incidence of influenza B. We also found poor lineage matches with recommended influenza virus vaccine strains. While most influenza B virus lineages in Malaysia were short-lived, one circulated for 3 to 4 years.


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