This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Thackray, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Field, H. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Thackray, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Field, H. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 1998, p. 1555-1562, Vol. 42, No. 7
0066-4804/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Famciclovir and Valaciclovir Differ in the Prevention of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency in Mice: a Quantitative Study

Alana M. Thackray and Hugh J. Field*

Centre for Veterinary Science, Cambridge University Veterinary School, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Received 22 October 1997/Returned for modification 6 January 1998/Accepted 3 April 1998

Famciclovir (FCV) and valaciclovir (VACV) have previously been shown to be potent inhibitors of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in a murine cutaneous model. In the present study, mice were inoculated in the skin of the left ear pinna with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1. Antiviral therapy was started on different days postinoculation (p.i.), terminating at the end of day 10 p.i. The compounds were administered twice daily by oral gavage at 50 mg/kg of body weight/dose. Mice were sampled on day 5 p.i., during the acute phase of the infection, and the titers of infectious virus in the target tissues (ear, brain stem, and trigeminal ganglia) were determined. At 2 to 3 months p.i., the ipsilateral and contralateral trigeminal and cervical dorsal root ganglia were explanted, and four different methods were used to detect latent HSV. The methods were (i) conventional explant culture for 5 days followed by homogenization, (ii) long-term culture (up to 73 days) of whole ganglia, followed by homogenization, (iii) dissociation by enzymatic disaggregation and an infectious center assay, and (iv) in situ hybridization to detect latency-associated transcripts (LATs). The conventional explant culture method was the least sensitive method, while in situ staining for LAT was the most sensitive, and all mice, including those treated from early times with FCV, were shown to be latently infected. Significantly less latent virus was detected by all four methods, however, in ganglia obtained from mice that had been treated with FCV in comparison with the amount detected in ganglia from mice that had been treated with VACV. However, in no case was latency completely eliminated.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Veterinary Science, Cambridge University Veterinary School, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OES, United Kingdom. Phone: (44) 01223 330810. Fax: (44) 01223 332998. E-mail: hjf10{at}cam.ac.uk.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 1998, p. 1555-1562, Vol. 42, No. 7
0066-4804/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Sainz, B. Jr, Halford, W. P. (2002). Alpha/Beta Interferon and Gamma Interferon Synergize To Inhibit the Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1. J. Virol. 76: 11541-11550 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Thackray, A. M., Bujdoso, R. (2002). PrPc Expression Influences the Establishment of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency. J. Virol. 76: 2498-2509 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Loutsch, J. M., Sainz, B. Jr., Marquart, M. E., Zheng, X., Kesavan, P., Higaki, S., Hill, J. M., Tal-Singer, R. (2001). Effect of Famciclovir on Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Corneal Disease and Establishment of Latency in Rabbits. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 45: 2044-2053 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Thackray, A. M., Field, H. J. (2000). The effects of antiviral therapy on the distribution of herpes simplex virus type 1 to ganglionic neurons and its consequences during, immediately following and several months after treatment. J. Gen. Virol. 81: 2385-2396 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Thackray, A. M., Field, H. J. (2000). Further evidence from a murine infection model that famciclovir interferes with the establishment of HSV-1 latent infections. J Antimicrob Chemother 45: 825-833 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Thackray, A. M., Field, H. J. (2000). Persistence of Infectious Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in the Nervous System in Mice after Antiviral Chemotherapy. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 44: 97-102 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»