Deletion of the gene for the African swine fever virus BCL-2 family member A179L increases virus uptake and apoptosis but decreases virus spread in macrophages and reduces virulence in pigs.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a lethal disease of pigs with high economic impact in affected countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia. The virus encodes proteins that inhibit host antiviral defenses, including the type I interferon response. Host cells also activate cell death through a process called apoptosis to limit virus replication.

-2-Alkylated Cytosine Acyclic Nucleoside Phosphonamidate Prodrugs Display Pan-Genotype Antiviral Activity against African Swine Fever Virus.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease with case fatality rates approaching 100% in domestic pigs. ASFV is responsible for substantial economic losses, but despite ongoing efforts, no vaccine or antiviral agent is currently available. Attempts to control the spread of ASFV are dependent on early detection, adherence to biosecurity measures, and culling of infected herds.

In vitro and in vivo antiviral activity of nucleoside analogue cHPMPC against African swine fever virus replication.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a haemorrhagic disease affecting wild boar and domestic pigs which can result in morbidity and fatality rates of up to 100%. ASFV is a large double-stranded DNA virus which replicates predominantly in the cell cytoplasm and codes for its replication and transcription machinery. No vaccine is widely available and control depends on early detection, culling of infected herds and adherence to biosecurity measures.

Emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants: comparative replication dynamics and high sensitivity to thapsigargin.

The struggle to control the COVID-19 pandemic is made challenging by the emergence of virulent SARS-CoV-2 variants. To gain insight into their replication dynamics, emergent Alpha (A), Beta (B) and Delta (D) SARS-CoV-2 variants were assessed for their infection performance in single variant- and co-infections. The effectiveness of thapsigargin (TG), a recently discovered broad-spectrum antiviral, against these variants was also examined.

Thapsigargin Is a Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor of Major Human Respiratory Viruses: Coronavirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Influenza A Virus.

The long-term control strategy of SARS-CoV-2 and other major respiratory viruses needs to include antivirals to treat acute infections, in addition to the judicious use of effective vaccines. Whilst COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out for mass vaccination, the modest number of antivirals in use or development for any disease bears testament to the challenges of antiviral development. We recently showed that non-cytotoxic levels of thapsigargin (TG), an inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca ATPase pump, induces a potent host innate immune antiviral response that blocks influenza A virus replication.

Thapsigargin at Non-Cytotoxic Levels Induces a Potent Host Antiviral Response that Blocks Influenza A Virus Replication.

Influenza A virus is a major global pathogen of humans, and there is an unmet need for effective antivirals. Current antivirals against influenza A virus directly target the virus and are vulnerable to mutational resistance. Harnessing an effective host antiviral response is an attractive alternative.

Extended 2D myotube culture recapitulates postnatal fibre type plasticity.

Background: The traditional problems of performing skeletal muscle cell cultures derived from mammalian or avian species are limited myotube differentiation, and transient myotube persistence which greatly restricts the ability of myotubes to undergo phenotypic maturation. We report here on a major technical breakthrough in the establishment of a simple and effective method of extended porcine myotube cultures (beyond 50 days) in two-dimension (2D) that recapitulates key features of postnatal fibre types.

Results: Primary porcine muscle satellite cells (myoblasts) were isolated from the longissimus dorsi of 4 to 6 weeks old pigs for 2D cultures to optimise myotube formation, improve surface adherence and characterise myotube maturation.