Efficiency of oxetanocin-G, a novel nucleoside against the woodchuck hepatitis virus.

Abstract

Oxetanocin-G (OXT-G), a potent antiviral agent, is a novel nucleoside isolated from the culture filtrate of Bacillus megaterium. We investigated the antiviral effect of oral administration of OXT-G for five days on woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), in vivo, using 12 woodchucks. Woodchucks were randomized into each of four treatment groups according to the dose of OXT-G. Two out of six woodchucks treated with 1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg/day of OXT-G died. After treatment with OXT-G, serum levels of WHV-DNA significantly decreased in all woodchucks. However, the antiviral effect was only partial and levels of serum WHV-DNA returned after the cessation of treatment. The amount of viral replicative intermediates was decreased in livers of woodchucks treated with OXT-G. Although further study of the toxicity of this compound would be essential before studies in man can be carried out, OXT-G has potent antiviral activity against WHV and may deserve evaluation as an antiviral agent in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infections in humans.

• Authors: N Ikeda, S Kaneko, A Shimoda, Y Inagaki, M Unoura, M Okada, Y Yonekawa, K Takahashi, K Kobayashi
• Journal: The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy (J Antimicrob Chemother) Vol. 33 Issue 1 Pg. 83-9 (Jan 1994) ISSN: 0305-7453 [Print] England
• PMID: 8157578 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antiviral Agents
• DNA, Viral
• oxetanocin G
• Guanine

Topics

• Animals
• Antiviral Agents (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Blotting, Southern
• DNA, Viral (blood)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Guanine (adverse effects, analogs & derivatives, therapeutic use)
• Hepatitis B (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Hepatitis B Virus, Woodchuck (drug effects, physiology)
• Immunoblotting
• In Situ Hybridization
• Liver (drug effects, microbiology, pathology)
• Marmota (microbiology)
• Virus Replication