Abstract
Influenza virus is the cause of significant morbidity and mortality, posing a serious health threat worldwide. Here, we evaluated the antiviral activities of Cryptoporus volvatus extract on influenza virus infection. Our results demonstrated that the Cryptoporus volvatus extract inhibited different influenza virus strain replication in MDCK cells. Time course analysis indicated that the extract exerted its inhibition at earlier and late stages in the replication cycle of influenza virus. Subsequently, we confirmed that the extract suppressed virus internalization into and released from cells. Moreover, the extract significantly reduced H1N1/09 influenza virus load in lungs and dramatically decreased lung lesions in mice. And most importantly, the extract protected mice from lethal challenge with H1N1/09 influenza virus. Our results suggest that the Cryptoporus volvatus extract could be a potential candidate for the development of a new anti-influenza virus therapy.
Highlights
Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations
Cryptoporus volvatus extract inhibits influenza virus infection in vitro To evaluate the therapeutic potential of the Cryptoporus volvatus extract, we first investigated whether the extract could inhibit influenza virus replication in vitro
Our results showed that the Cryptoporus volvatus extract treatment induced a significant dose-dependent reduction of infected cells and suppressed the propagation of the H1N1/09 virus to a low level
Summary
Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations. Influenza A viruses are responsible for seasonal epidemics and have caused three pandemics in the 20th century (1918, 1957, and 1968) as well as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Up to 10% of the U.S population is affected by symptomatic influenza infection. It had been reported that more than 220,000 persons are hospitalized, of which 24,000 die due to influenza-associated illness each year [1]. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0113604 December 1, 2014
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