Live
attenuated vaccines have recently been introduced for preventing
rotavirus disease in
children . However, alternative
strategies for prevention and
treatment of
rotavirus infection are needed mainly in
developing countries where low
vaccine coverage occurs. In the present
work ,
N-acetylcysteine (NAC),
ascorbic acid (AA), some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (
NSAIDs ) and
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (
PPAR γ)
agonists were tested for their
ability to interfere with
rotavirus ECwt infectivity as detected by the percentage of
viral antigen -positive
cells of small intestinal villi isolated from ECwt-infected
ICR mice .
Administration of 6 mg NAC/kg every 8 h for three days following the first diarrhoeal episode reduced viral infectivity by about 90%.
Administration of AA,
ibuprofen ,
diclofenac ,
pioglitazone or
rosiglitazone decreased viral infectivity by about 55%, 90%, 35%, 32% and 25%, respectively. ECwt
infection of
mice increased expression of
cyclooxygenase-2 , ERp57, Hsc70, NF-κB, Hsp70,
protein disulphide
isomerase (PDI) and
PPAR γ in intestinal villus
cells . NAC
treatment of ECwt-infected
mice reduced Hsc70 and PDI expression to levels
similar to those observed in villi from uninfected control
mice . The present results suggest that the
drugs tested in the present
work could be assayed in preventing or treating rotaviral diarrhoea in
children and young
animals .