Iota-carrageenan is a potent inhibitor of influenza A virus infection
Andreas Leibbrandt, Christiane Meier, Marielle König-Schuster, Regina Weinmüllner, Donata Kalthoff, Bettina Pflugfelder, Philipp Graf, Britta Frank-Gehrke, Martin Beer, Tamas Fazekas, Hermann Unger, Eva Prieschl-Grassauer, Andreas Grassauer, Andreas Leibbrandt, Christiane Meier, Marielle König-Schuster, Regina Weinmüllner, Donata Kalthoff, Bettina Pflugfelder, Philipp Graf, Britta Frank-Gehrke, Martin Beer, Tamas Fazekas, Hermann Unger, Eva Prieschl-Grassauer, Andreas Grassauer
Abstract
The 2009 flu pandemic and the appearance of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 influenza strains highlight the need for treatment alternatives. One such option is the creation of a protective physical barrier in the nasal cavity. In vitro tests demonstrated that iota-carrageenan is a potent inhibitor of influenza A virus infection, most importantly also of pandemic H1N1/2009 in vitro. Consequently, we tested a commercially available nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan in an influenza A mouse infection model. Treatment of mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza A PR8/34 H1N1 virus with iota-carrageenan starting up to 48 hours post infection resulted in a strong protection of mice similar to mice treated with oseltamivir. Since alternative treatment options for influenza are rare, we conclude that the nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan is an alternative to neuraminidase inhibitors and should be tested for prevention and treatment of influenza A in clinical trials in humans.
Conflict of interest statement
Competing Interests: The authors AL, AG, CM, MK, RW, BP, BF, PG, and EP are employed by Marinomed. Authors HU, EP and AG are co-founders of Marinomed. AG and EP are inventors of patent # WO2009027057 held by Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH that relates to the content of the manuscript. Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH is financing the processing charge of this manuscript. TF has previously served as principal investigator for a clinical investigator-initiated study that was co-financed by Marinomed. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Authors MB and DK declare no competing interests.
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