Chloroquine interferes with dengue‐2 virus replication in U937 cells |
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| Authors: | Kleber Juvenal Silva Farias Paula Renata Lima Machado Renato Ferreira de Almeida Junior Ana Alice de Aquino Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine of Ribeir?o Preto, University of S?o Paulo, , 14049‐900 Ribeir?o Preto, SP, Brazil;2. Program of Graduate Studies of Applied Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine of Ribeir?o Preto, University of S?o Paulo, , 14049‐900 Ribeir?o Preto, SP, Brazil;3. Virology Research Center, School of Medicine of Ribeir?o Preto, University of S?o Paulo, , 14049‐900 Ribeir?o Preto, SP, Brazil;4. Program of Graduate Studies in Biological Sciences, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, , 59072‐970 Natal, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | The objective of this study was to investigate the use of chloroquine (CLQ) as an antiviral agent against dengue. Chloroquine, an amine acidotropic drug known to affect intracellular exocytic pathways by increasing endosomal pH, was used in the in vitro treatment of U937 cells infected with dengue virus type 2 (DENV‐2). Viral replication was assessed by quantification of virus produced through detection of copy numbers of DENV‐2 RNA, plaque assay and indirect immunofluorescence. qRT‐PCR and plaque assays were used to quantify the DENV‐2 load in infected U937 cells after CLQ treatment. It was found that a dose of 50 μg/mL of CLQ was not toxic to the cells and resulted in significantly less virus production in infected U937 cells than occurred in untreated cells. In the present work, CLQ was effective against DENV‐2 replication in U937 cells, and also caused a statistically significant reduction in expression of proinflammatory cytokines. The present study indicates that CLQ may be used to reduce viral yield in U937 cells. |
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