In vitro Antiviral Activity of Remdesivir Against SARS-CoV-2 and its Variants

Aleksandra Nowakowska, Hanul Choi, Kihoon Park, Jinha Kim, Yuyeon Jang, Jungmin Chun, Young Bong Kim, Hee-Jung Lee

doi:10.4167/jbv.2022.52.4.149

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2022 Vol.52, Issue 4 Preview Page Next Page

Original Article

In vitro Antiviral Activity of Remdesivir Against SARS-CoV-2 and its Variants

31 December 2022. pp. 149-159

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Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has become a public health emergency of international concern; thus, it is important to not only develop drugs for treating COVID-19 but also develop a method for evaluating the therapeutic effect based on the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. To test the antiviral activity of a drug against COVID-19, in this study, we established and compared experimental conditions, such as the treatment time and mode of action (dose) of the therapeutic substance, and a test method to evaluate its effectiveness. We optimized an assay for testing antiviral activity by plaque reduction, tissue culture infectious dose 50, and quantitative RT-PCR. These methods were applied to test the antiviral efficacy of the therapeutic against SARS-CoV-2. Antiviral activity testing using in vitro assays against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants was assessed by measuring plaque-reducing or cytopathic effects in Vero-E6 cells. The in vitro assay was validated by evaluating the antiviral activity of remdesivir. Remdesivir reduced SARS-CoV-2 titer without detectable cytotoxicity and successfully inhibited viral replication in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, we suggest this in vitro assay as an effective method for testing the antiviral activity for a potential repurposed drug against COVID-19 or rapid screening of therapeutic candidates.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2

Variant

Antiviral

Remdesivir

in vitro assay

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Information

Publisher :The Korean Society for Microbiology
Publisher(Ko) :대한미생물학회
Journal Title :JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY AND VIROLOGY
Volume : 52
No :4
Pages :149-159
Received Date :2022. 09. 06
Revised Date :2022. 10. 31
Accepted Date : 2022. 11. 01
DOI :https://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2022.52.4.149

JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY AND VIROLOGY ISSN:1598-2467(Print) 2093-0429(Online)

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