Inhibition of Rhinovirus Replication in Organ Culture by a Potential Antiviral Drug

Abstract

The compound 2-amino-1-(isopropyl sulfonyl)-6-benzimidazole phenyl ketone oxime (LY122771-72) at a concentration of 0.2 .mu.g/ml completely inhibited rhinovirus replication in human embryonic nasal organ cultures, although in the absence of virus the compound did not inhibit ciliary activity when used at a concentration of 25 .mu.g/ml. When added 26 h after infection, the compound stopped rhinovirus production in organ cultures that already started to release virus. Five rhinovirus types available for infection of volunteers and 6 recently obtained clinical isolates were more sensitive to LY122771-72 in tissue culture than the rhinovirus type 31 used in the organ culture experiments. These results suggest that this potential antiviral drug should be evaluated in humans.