Skip to main content
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1979 Jun;15(6):775–779. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.6.775

Therapy of Experimental Herpes Simplex Encephalitis with Aciclovir in Mice

No-Hee Park 1,3, Deborah Pavan-Langston 1,2,3, Sandra L Mclean 1, Daniel M Albert 2,3
PMCID: PMC352757  PMID: 475362

Abstract

This report is concerned with the capacities of aciclovir to protect mice challenged intracerebrally with multiple lethal doses of type 1 herpes simplex virus and to control multiplication of this virus in the brain. With treatment initiated 12 h after inoculation and continued for 4 consecutive days, aciclovir administered subcutaneously in daily doses ranging from 40 to 100 mg/kg led to 21-day survival rates of from 33 to 73% and reduced virus titers by 1 to ½ × 4 logs on postchallenge day 8. The therapeutic accomplishments of the 100-mg/kg doses of aciclovir were comparable to those of 1,000-mg/kg doses of vidarabine (9-β-d-arabinofuranosyladenine); however, as measured by impact on body weight, aciclovir was better tolerated than vidarabine at these similarly effective doses.

Full text

PDF
775

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ch'ien L. T., Whitley R. J., Nahmias A. J., Lewin E. B., Linnemann C. C., Jr, Frenkel L. D., Bellanti J. A., Buchanan R. A., Alford D. A., Jr Antiviral chemotherapy and neonatal herpes simplex virus infecition: a pilot study--experience with adenine arabinoside (ARA-A). Pediatrics. 1975 May;55(5):678–685. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cho C. T., Liu C., Voth D. W., Feng K. K. Effects of idoxuridine on Herpesvirus hominis encephalitis and disseminated infections in marmosets. J Infect Dis. 1973 Dec;128(6):718–723. doi: 10.1093/infdis/128.6.718. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Clough D. W., Parkhurst J. R. Experimental herpes simplex virus type 1 encephalitis: treatment with 5-trifluoromethyl-2'-deoxyuridine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1977 Feb;11(2):307–311. doi: 10.1128/aac.11.2.307. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Davis W. B., Oakes J. E., Taylor J. A. Effect of treatment with 5-ethyl-2'-deoxyuridine on herpes simplex virus encephalitis in normal and immunosuppressed mice. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1978 Nov;14(5):743–748. doi: 10.1128/aac.14.5.743. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elion G. B., Furman P. A., Fyfe J. A., de Miranda P., Beauchamp L., Schaeffer H. J. Selectivity of action of an antiherpetic agent, 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl) guanine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5716–5720. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5716. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fyfe J. A., Keller P. M., Furman P. A., Miller R. L., Elion G. B. Thymidine kinase from herpes simplex virus phosphorylates the new antiviral compound, 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine. J Biol Chem. 1978 Dec 25;253(24):8721–8727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Griffith J. F., Fitzwilliam J. F., Casagrande S., Butler S. R. Experimental herpes simplex virus encephalitis: Comparative effects of treatment with cytosine arabinoside and adenine arabinoside. J Infect Dis. 1975 Nov;132(5):506–510. doi: 10.1093/infdis/132.5.506. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kaufman H. E., Varnell E. D., Centifanto Y. M., Rheinstrom S. D. Effect of 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine on herpesvirus-induced keratitis and iritis in rabbits. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1978 Dec;14(6):842–845. doi: 10.1128/aac.14.6.842. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Longson M. The treatment of herpes encephalitis. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1977 Mar;3 (Suppl A):115–123. doi: 10.1093/jac/3.suppl_a.115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Nahmias A. J., Roizman B. Infection with herpes-simplex viruses 1 and 2. 3. N Engl J Med. 1973 Oct 11;289(15):781–789. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197310112891505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Pavan-Langston D., Campbell R., Lass J. Acyclic antimetabolite therapy of experimental herpes simplex keratitis. Am J Ophthalmol. 1978 Nov;86(5):618–623. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(78)90178-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. RAPP F. VARIANTS OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS: ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND FACTORS INFLUENCING PLAQUE FORMATION. J Bacteriol. 1963 Nov;86:985–991. doi: 10.1128/jb.86.5.985-991.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ross A. H., Julia A., Balakrishnan C. Toxicity of adenine arabinoside in humans. J Infect Dis. 1976 Jun;133 (Suppl):A192–A198. doi: 10.1093/infdis/133.supplement_2.a192. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schaeffer H. J., Beauchamp L., de Miranda P., Elion G. B., Bauer D. J., Collins P. 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl) guanine activity against viruses of the herpes group. Nature. 1978 Apr 13;272(5654):583–585. doi: 10.1038/272583a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sloan B. J., Miller F. A., Ehrlich J., McLean I. W., Machamer H. E. Antiviral activity of 0-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine. IV. Activity against intracerebral herpes simplex virus infections in mice. Antimicrob Agents Chemother (Bethesda) 1968;8:161–171. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sloan B. J., Miller F. A., McLean I. W., Jr Treatment of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 encephalitis in mice with 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1973 Jan;3(1):74–80. doi: 10.1128/aac.3.1.74. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Taber L. H., Greenberg S. B., Perez F. I., Couch R. B. Herpes simplex encephalitis treated with vidarabine (adenine arabinoside). Arch Neurol. 1977 Oct;34(10):608–610. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1977.00500220042006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Whitley R. J., Soong S. J., Dolin R., Galasso G. J., Ch'ien L. T., Alford C. A. Adenine arabinoside therapy of biopsy-proved herpes simplex encephalitis. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases collaborative antiviral study. N Engl J Med. 1977 Aug 11;297(6):289–294. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197708112970601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES