In vitro inhibition of monkeypox virus production and spread by Interferon-β

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Orthopoxvirus </it>genus contains numerous virus species that are capable of causing disease in humans, including variola virus (the etiological agent of smallpox), monkeypox virus, cowpox virus, and vaccinia virus (the prototypical member of the genus). Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease that is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is characterized by systemic lesion development and prominent lymphadenopathy. Like variola virus, monkeypox virus is a high priority pathogen for therapeutic development due to its potential to cause serious disease with significant health impacts after zoonotic, accidental, or deliberate introduction into a naïve population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic potential of interferon-β (IFN-β) for use against monkeypox virus. We found that treatment with human IFN-β results in a significant decrease in monkeypox virus production and spread <it>in vitro</it>. IFN-β substantially inhibited monkeypox virus when introduced 6-8 h post infection, revealing its potential for use as a therapeutic. IFN-β induced the expression of the antiviral protein MxA in infected cells, and constitutive expression of MxA was shown to inhibit monkeypox virus infection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrate the successful inhibition of monkeypox virus using human IFN-β and suggest that IFN-β could potentially serve as a novel safe therapeutic for human monkeypox disease.</p

Influence of polymer composition on the sensitivity towards nitrite and nitric oxide of colorimetric disposable test strips

The influence of polymer composition on the sensitivity towards nitrite (NO 2 − ) and nitric oxide (NO) of a series of 19 polymeric hydrogel films has been stud- ied. The polymers, based on the hydrophilic monomer 2- hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), are able to encapsu- late the colorimetric indicator 1,2-diaminoanthraquinone (DAQ) and to respond to NO 2 − and NO by visual chang- es. In the case of nitrite, the calculated limits of detection (LOD) for two of the polymeric sensors (10 μ M) are very close to the sensitivity estimated for free DAQ in solution (LOD 5 μ M), but with the advantage of a solid supported sensor with the format of a disposable test- strip made with affordable starting chemicals. The re- sults are interpreted taking into account the nature and proportions of monomers and cross-linkers used for the synthesis of polymers. Key factors for obtaining sensi- tive materials are the hydro philic character of the film along with the utilization of low levels of cross-linker and the use of an acidic monomer, like acrylic acid, as a building block.Financial support from the Spanish MINECO (CTQ2015-68429-R) and Fundació Caixa Castelló-UJI (P1·1B2015-76) is acknowledged. V. F. thanks the financial support from UJI (predoctoral fellowship). We thank SCIC/UJI for technical assistance