2009 Volume 30 Issue 6 Pages 365-368
In this study, we demonstrate that a cyanine dye, lumin, significantly suppressed cytopathic effect by herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 toward human amnionic FL cell and also it reduced replication of HSV-1 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, lumin additively augmented the antiviral effect of interferon (IFN)-α. Furthermore, fluorescence microscopic study showed that lumin (not IFN-α) itself remarkably induced alkalinization of intracellular organelle, suggesting the inhibition of virus invasion into the cells. These results suggest that lumin exerts an antiviral action against HSV-1 with the independent pathways of IFN-α and also it would become a therapeutically effective drug in clinical practice.