Anti-viral activity of peramivir against avian Influenza A (H7N9) in vitro

Abstract

Objective To study the antiviral effects of peramivir against avian influenza A (H7N9) in vitro. Methods An antiviral assay in vitro and neuraminidase inhibition assay as well as sequencing were conducted to evaluate antiviral activity of peramivir against avian influenza A (H7N9) viruses. Results Effective concentration 50 (EC50) of peramivir, oseltamivir and zanamivir against the A/Anhui/1/2013(H7N9) (abbreviated as Anhui/1) were 0.74±0.24 μmol/L, 25.5±16.0 μmol/L, 29.4±6.2 μmol/L respectively, but EC50 of three neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) against A/Shanghai/1/2013(H7N9) (abbreviated as Shanghai/1) were 74.4±18.7 μmol/L, >1000 μmol/L, and 37.1±11.9 μmol/L, with 100, > 40 and 1.2 fold increasing compared with the EC50 against Anhui/1 respectively. The susceptibility of avian influenza (H7N9) viruses Anhui/1 and Shanghai/1 to NAIs showed that NAIs were sensitive to both viral strains. But the strain Shanghai/1 has a lysine at position 292 of the NA gene instead of arginine at this site. The mutation R292K was thus supported the resistance to oseltamivir. Conclusion Neuraminidase inhibitors have been shown to be effective for the treatment of A/Anhui/1/2013(H7N9) on MDCK cells. The resistance of neuraminidase inhibitors against A/Shanghai/1/2013(H7N9) was determined at MDCK cells. It matched the feature of NA gene of this virus. Comprehensive consideration should be taken when we indentify drug resistant virus. Key words: Influenza A virus; Peramivir; Drug resistance