Antiviral Effect of Arbidol Hydrochloride on Adenovirus Type 7 in Vitro

Objective: To investigate the antiviral activity of Arbidol hydrochloride against adenovirus type 7(ADV-7) in vitro.Methods: The antiviral effect of Arbidol was studied by assaying infected cells for protection from cytopathic effect(CPE),adopting MTT colorimetric assay for viral inhibitory rate and viral titers.Results: Arbidol displayed antiviral activity against ADV-7 when added after infection with 50% cytotoxic concentration(CC_(50)) and 50% inhibitory concentration(IC_(50)) of 85.37 mg/L and 15.39 mg/L,resulting in a treatment index(TI) of 5.55.With the increase of the drug dose,the degree of CPE and viral titers decreased correspondingly,whereas viral inhibition rate increased.As typical CPE were observed at all concentrations,Arbidol showed no abilities of directly-killing ADV-7 and had no effect on viral absorption and penetration.(Conclusion:) These results indicate that Arbidol suppresses the late stage of viral cycle.Arbidol should be considered further as a multi-factorial and prospective antiviral substance.