Transcriptional inhibition of feline immunodeficiency virus by alpha-amanitin

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

Automated summary

The study found that alpha-amanitin has antiviral activity against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) by inhibiting the RNA transcription level.