Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells

Dengue viruses are the most important arthropod-borne viruses in terms of morbidity and mortality in the world. Since there is no dengue vaccine available for human use, we have set out to investigate the use of chloroquine as an antiviral drug against dengue. Chloroquine, an amine acidotropic drug...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias, Paula Renata Lima Machado, Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/282734
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832564819121668096
author Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias
Paula Renata Lima Machado
Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca
author_facet Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias
Paula Renata Lima Machado
Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca
author_sort Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias
collection DOAJ
description Dengue viruses are the most important arthropod-borne viruses in terms of morbidity and mortality in the world. Since there is no dengue vaccine available for human use, we have set out to investigate the use of chloroquine as an antiviral drug against dengue. Chloroquine, an amine acidotropic drug known to affect intracellular exocytic pathways by increasing endosomal pH, was used in the in vitro treatment of Vero and C6/36 cells infected with dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2). Real-time RT-PCR and plaque assays were used to quantify the DENV-2 load in infected Vero and C6/36 cells after chloroquine treatment. Our results showed that a dose of 50 μg/ml of chloroquine was not toxic to the cells and induced a statistically significant inhibition of virus production in infected Vero cells when compared to untreated cells. In C6/36 cells, chloroquine does not induce a statistically significant difference in viral replication when compared to untreated cells, showing that this virus uses an unlikely pathway of penetration in these cells, and results were also confirmed by the plaque assay (PFU). These data suggest that the inhibition of virus infection induced by chloroquine is due to interference with acidic vesicles in mammalian cells.
format Article
id doaj-art-4d34be488529460bb3e0f6cbd34f4039
institution Kabale University
issn 1537-744X
language English
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series The Scientific World Journal
spelling doaj-art-4d34be488529460bb3e0f6cbd34f40392025-02-03T01:10:11ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2013-01-01201310.1155/2013/282734282734Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 CellsKleber Juvenal Silva Farias0Paula Renata Lima Machado1Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca2Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilDengue viruses are the most important arthropod-borne viruses in terms of morbidity and mortality in the world. Since there is no dengue vaccine available for human use, we have set out to investigate the use of chloroquine as an antiviral drug against dengue. Chloroquine, an amine acidotropic drug known to affect intracellular exocytic pathways by increasing endosomal pH, was used in the in vitro treatment of Vero and C6/36 cells infected with dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2). Real-time RT-PCR and plaque assays were used to quantify the DENV-2 load in infected Vero and C6/36 cells after chloroquine treatment. Our results showed that a dose of 50 μg/ml of chloroquine was not toxic to the cells and induced a statistically significant inhibition of virus production in infected Vero cells when compared to untreated cells. In C6/36 cells, chloroquine does not induce a statistically significant difference in viral replication when compared to untreated cells, showing that this virus uses an unlikely pathway of penetration in these cells, and results were also confirmed by the plaque assay (PFU). These data suggest that the inhibition of virus infection induced by chloroquine is due to interference with acidic vesicles in mammalian cells.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/282734
spellingShingle Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias
Paula Renata Lima Machado
Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca
Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
The Scientific World Journal
title Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
title_full Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
title_fullStr Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
title_full_unstemmed Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
title_short Chloroquine Inhibits Dengue Virus Type 2 Replication in Vero Cells but Not in C6/36 Cells
title_sort chloroquine inhibits dengue virus type 2 replication in vero cells but not in c6 36 cells
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/282734
work_keys_str_mv AT kleberjuvenalsilvafarias chloroquineinhibitsdenguevirustype2replicationinverocellsbutnotinc636cells
AT paularenatalimamachado chloroquineinhibitsdenguevirustype2replicationinverocellsbutnotinc636cells
AT beneditoantoniolopesdafonseca chloroquineinhibitsdenguevirustype2replicationinverocellsbutnotinc636cells