Blebbistatin as a Novel Antiviral Agent Targeting Equid Herpesvirus Type 8 Provisionally Accepted
Muhammad Z. Khan3*
Changfa Wang2*
Tongtong Wang3*
- 1Liaocheng University, China
- 2Liaocheng Research Institute of Donkey High-efficiency Breeding and Ecological Feeding, Liaocheng University, China
- 3Liaocheng University, China
Equid herpesvirus type 8 (EqHV-8) poses a significant threat to equine health, leading to miscarriages and respiratory diseases in horses and donkeys, and results in substantial economic losses in the donkey industry. Currently, there are no effective drugs or vaccines available for EqHV-8 infection control. In this study, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo antiviral efficacy of Blebbistatin, a myosin II ATPase inhibitor, against EqHV-8. Our results demonstrated that Blebbistatin significantly inhibited EqHV-8 infection in Rabbit kidney (RK-13) and Madin-Darby Bovine Kidney (MDBK) cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Notably, Blebbistatin was found to disrupt EqHV-8 infection at the entry stage by modulating myosin II ATPase activity. Moreover, in vivo experiments revealed that Blebbistatin effectively reduced EqHV-8 replication and mitigated lung pathology in a mouse model.Collectively, these findings suggest that Blebbistatin holds considerable potential as an antiviral agent for the control of EqHV-8 infection, presenting a novel approach to addressing this veterinary challenge.
Keywords: EqHV-8, Blebbistatin, myosin II ATPase inhibitor, Antiviral activity, animal model
Received: 23 Feb 2024;
Accepted: 13 May 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Li, Cui, Li, Li, Li, Chen, Khan, Wang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Prof. Muhammad Z. Khan, Liaocheng University, Shangdong, China
Prof. Changfa Wang, Liaocheng Research Institute of Donkey High-efficiency Breeding and Ecological Feeding, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252000, Shandong Province, China
Prof. Tongtong Wang, Liaocheng University, Shangdong, China