Antiviral activity of Vigna radiata extract against feline coronavirus in vitro

Abstract

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal illness caused by a mutated feline coronavirus (FCoV). This disease is characterized by its complexity, resulting from systemic infection, antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), and challenges in accessing effective therapeutics. Extract derived from Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek (VRE) exhibits various pharmacological effects, including antiviral activity. This study aimed to investigate the antiviral potential of VRE against FCoV, addressing the urgent need to advance the treatment of FIP. We explored the anti-FCoV activity, antiviral mechanism, and combinational application of VRE by means of in vitro antiviral assays. Our findings reveal that VRE effectively inhibited the cytopathic effect induced by FCoV, reduced viral proliferation, and downregulated spike protein expression. Moreover, VRE blocked FCoV in the early and late infection stages and was effective under in vitro ADE infection. Notably, when combined with VRE, the polymerase inhibitor GS-441524 or protease inhibitor GC376 suppressed FCoV more effectively than monotherapy. In conclusion, this study characterizes the antiviral property of VRE against FCoV in vitro, and VRE possesses therapeutic potential for FCoV treatment.

Keywords:

• Feline coronavirus
• feline infectious peritonitis
• antiviral
• Vigna radiata extract
• GS-441524
• GC376

Author contributions

HWC (Chen) conceived and designed the experiments. AAC, YCL, CCP, YMK, and HFC performed the experiments and analyzed the data. YCC, HWC (Chang), and CHL ­contributed essential reagents and comments. AAC drafted the manuscript. HWC and CHL edited the ­manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by King’s Ground Biotech Co., Ltd., National Science and Technology Council (110-2622-B-002-007), and National Taiwan University (113L892501).