Potential Therapeutic Agent, Apogen®, against Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Session VII – Chen, Yi-Hsiang – Abstract 2 of 2 - Poster Only

Title of Contribution: Potential Therapeutic Agent, Apogen®, against Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Author(s): Chun-Ting Chen1, Chun-Nan Lee1, Yi-Hsiang Chen2, I-Chen Hu2, Chuang-Chun Chiueh2
Affiliation(s): 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. 2Far East Bio-Tec Company, Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major viral pathogens of severe lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children. So far no very effective treatment is available for the infection of RSV. Previously, studies have shown that influenza virus induced cell apoptosis could be inhibited by a commercial extract of private photobacteria, Apogen®, and the antiviral activity of photobacteria such as cyanobacteria against other viruses have also been demonstrated. In this study, the antiviral activity against RSV of Apogen® was evaluated. In the first part of this study, MTT test was used to monitor the cytotoxicity of Apogen® in HEp-2 cells. We found that no significant cytotoxicity was induced by “Apogen®. We also observed that Apogen® can reduce the cytopathic effect of RSV infected HEp-2 cell. MTT test was used to determine the IC50 of Apogen® for inhibition of RSV infection. The IC50 of Apogen® for RSV inhibition was 0.195mg/ml. The time course screening provided the evidence that Apogen® can inhibit RSV binding to cells and penetrating into cells. After removing the protein part of Apogen® by heat treatment, we observed that the remnant material still had anti-RSV activity, and inferred the active material of Apogen® would be polysaccharide. In conclusion, the results indicated that Apogen® may be a potential therapeutic agent against RSV.