Research
Suppression of feline coronavirus replication in vitro by cyclosporin A
1 Department of Veterinary Hygiene, Veterinary School, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, 1-7-1 Kyounan, Musashino, Tokyo, 180-8602, Japan
2 Department of Infection Control Science, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan
Veterinary Research 2012, 43:41 doi:10.1186/1297-9716-43-41
Published: 30 April 2012Abstract
The feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) is a member of the feline coronavirus family that causes FIP, which is incurable and fatal in cats. Cyclosporin A (CsA), an immunosuppressive agent that targets the nuclear factor pathway of activated T-cells (NF-AT) to bind cellular cyclophilins (CyP), dose-dependently inhibited FIPV replication in vitro. FK506 (an immunosuppressor of the pathway that binds cellular FK506-binding protein (FKBP) but not CyP) did not affect FIPV replication. Neither cell growth nor viability changed in the presence of either CsA or FK506, and these factors did not affect the NF-AT pathway in fcwf-4 cells. Therefore, CsA does not seem to exert inhibitory effects via the NF-AT pathway. In conclusion, CsA inhibited FIPV replication in vitro and further studies are needed to verify the practical value of CsA as an anti-FIPV treatment in vivo.
