Inhibition of human coronavirus 229E infection in human epithelial lung cells (L132) by chloroquine: Involvement of p38 MAPK and ERK

The antiviral effects of chloroquine (CQ) on human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) infection of human fetal lung cell line, L 132 are reported. CQ significantly decreased the viral replication at concentrations lower than in clinical usage. We demonstrated that CQ affects the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Furthermore, p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, inhibits CPE induced by HCoV-229E infection and viral replication. Our findings suggest that CQ affects the activation of MAPKs, involved in the replication of HCoV-229E. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.