Evaluation on the antiviral activity of artemisinin against rhabdovirus infection in common carp

Abstract

The spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) is a serious deadly virus that results in high mortality and significant economic losses in the aquaculture industry of carp species. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antiviral effect of 8 natural compounds against SVCV in epithelioma papulosum cyprinid (EPC) cells and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Herein, artemisinin was identified to inhibit SVCV replication obviously, with the highest inhibition ratio on SVCV nucleoprotein gene expression at 100 μM in cells. Artemisinin not only maintained normal cell morphology and reduced intracellular nuclear damage in SVCV-infected cells, but also disrupted SVCV infection by affecting viral attachment and entry. In vivo experiments revealed that artemisinin post-incubation by feeding significantly increased common carp survival by 33.3%, and significantly decreased the viral loads. Meanwhile, artemisinin induced up-regulation of antiviral-related genes, such as type I IFN (IFN1), IFN-stimulated gene product 15 (ISG15), Mx1, and viperin, implying an immunoregulatory capacity. Taking together, artemisinin may promise in the prevention and treatment of SVCV infection in aquaculture.