In this study, the mechanism by which
Suramin inhibits the replication of
epidemic encephalitis B virus was explored to provide a theoretical basis for its further application in clinical practice. After
viral infection of HepG2 and IMR-32 cells, different concentrations of
Suramin were added to the
culture media, and then the cultural supernatants and infected cells were collected 48 h later. For the evaluation of the curative effect, cytopathic effect (CPE), virus titers, the expression of
viral protein and
viral RNA were determined by Western blot, RT-PCR and in vitro
RNA synthesis, respectively. At the concentration of 50 microg/ml of
Suramin, HepG2 and IMR-32 infected with
epidemic encephalitis B virus decreased by 51.8% and 0.03% respectively, as compared with controls. It was suggested that expression of
encephalitis B virus
proteins NS3 and E was notably reduced by
Suramin. This is especially true of E
protein. At
RNA level, however, no difference in RNA virus was found between
Suramin-treated virus and non-treated cells. Our results suggest that
Suramin can inhibit viral replication by blocking the production of
viral proteins.