Estudio comparativo de los efectos antivirales de agentes antioxidantes: N-acetilcistenia y ácido ascórbico e inmunosupresores: Ciclosporina A y tacrolimus en células crónicamente infectadas con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia felina

Abstract

TO EXAMINE THE ANTIVIRAL ACTION OF ANTIOXIDANTS AND IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS ON FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (VIF), THE EFFECTS OF NONCYTOTOXIC CONCENTRATIONS OF TWO ANTIOXIDANTS, N-ACETYLCYSTEINE (NAC) AND ASCORBIC ACID (AA) AND TWO IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE AGENTS, CYCLOSPORIN A (CSA) AND TRACROLIMUS (ALSO KNOWN AS FK506) ON THE INHIBITION OF THE REPLICATION OF THE VIRUS AND OF APOPTOSIS IN A FELINE FIBROBLASTIC CELL LINE CHRONICALLY INFECTED WITH VIF WERE STUDIED AND COMPARED. LONG-TERM TREATMENT OF THE INFECTED CELLS WITH NAC AND AA INDUCED A SIGNIFICANT INHIBITION OF VIRAL REPLICATION AND APOPTOSIS AFTER ADDITION OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALFA (TNF-_). BOTH CSA AND FK506 SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPRESSED VIRUS PRODUCTION AND APOPTOSIS ACTIVITY BY ABOUT THE SAME MAGNITUDE AS THE EQUIVALENT DOSE OF NAC AND AA. THE TWENTY TWO DAY EXPERIMENT SHOWED THAT CONTINUOUS PRESENCE OF THE AGENTS WAS NECESSARY FOR VIF INHIBITION, BECAUSE THE REMOVAL OF THE DRUGS RESULTED IN THE RESUMPTION OF VIRUS REPLICATION. THESE IN VITRO RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE ANTIVIRAL EFFECTS OF THE ANTIOXIDANTS AND IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE AGENTS TESTED IN THIS STUDY HAVE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES IN VIF INFECTION.