Transcriptional inhibition of feline immunodeficiency virus by alpha-amanitin

• Published in: Journal of Veterinary Medical Science Vol. 83; no. 1; pp. 158 - 161
• Main Authors: TANABE, Taishi, FUKUDA, Yurina, KAWASHIMA, Kazuhiko, YAMAMOTO, Satomi, KASHIMOTO, Takashige, SATO, Hisaaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan JAPANESE SOCIETY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 01-01-2021; Japan Science and Technology Agency; The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
• Subjects: Amanitin; anti-retroviral drug; Antiviral activity; Cats; Core protein; feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV); Polymerase chain reaction; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA-directed DNA polymerase; therapy; Transcription; Virology; Western blotting; anti-retroviral drug; feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV); therapy; amanitin
• ISSN: 0916-7250; 1347-7439
• DOI: 10.1292/jvms.20-0182

Alpha-amanitin, one of the amatoxins in egg amanita, has a cyclic peptide structure, and was reported as having antiviral activity against several viruses. We investigated whether α-amanitin has antiviral activity against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). FL-4 cells persistently infected with FIV Petaluma were cultured with α-amanitin. Reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in the supernatant of FL-4 cells was significantly inhibited by α-amanitin. In addition, the production of FIV core protein in FL-4 cells was inhibited by α-amanitin when analyzed by western blotting. Furthermore, α-amanitin inhibited the transcription of FIV in real-time RT-PCR. These data suggested that α-amanitin showed anti-FIV activity by inhibiting the RNA transcription level.