Antibiotic Minocycline Prevents Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Swapnil S Bawage,Shreekumar Pillai,Vida A Dennis,Pooja M Tiwari,Shree R Singh

doi:10.3390/v11080739

Abstract

Treatment drugs, besides their specific activity, often have multiple effects on the body. The undesired effect of the drug may be repurposed as therapeutics, saving significant investigative time and effort. Minocycline has anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties. Presently, minocycline is also known to show anti-viral activity against Influenza virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Simian immunodeficiency virus, Human immunodeficiency virus and West Nile virus. Here, we investigate the effect of minocycline on Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that causes severe mortality and morbidity in infants, children, and older adult populations. Currently, there is no effective vaccine or treatment for RSV infection; hence, there is a critical need for alternative and effective drug choices. Our study shows that minocycline reduces the RSV-mediated cytopathic effect and prevents RSV infection. This is the first study demonstrating the anti-viral activity of minocycline against RSV.

Highlights

Worldwide, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of lower respiratory tract infections among pediatric and geriatric populations, thereby imposing a hefty healthcare and economic burden [1]
These treatments were assessed with trypan blue staining, which indicated that minocycline protected the cells from the RSV-mediated cytopathic effect (Figure 1C)
There was no significant difference in the live cell counts among the mock, minocycline primed and RSV infected-minocycline primed cells

Summary

Introduction

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of lower respiratory tract infections among pediatric and geriatric populations, thereby imposing a hefty healthcare and economic burden [1]. In the United States, the average annual hospitalizations of children younger than one year old or five years old are 100,000–126,000 and 57,527, respectively. Adults older than 65 years have average hospitalization rates of 177,000/year [2]. In 2005, it was estimated that RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infections resulted in 66,000–199,000 deaths in children younger than five years [3]. The only Food and Drug Administration approved antiviral therapy for this negative sense ssRNA virus is ribavirin and palivizumab (a monoclonal antibody). There is an urgent need for alternative drugs to counter RSV

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Discussion

Conclusion