In vitro Anti‐human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Activity of Biliverdin, a Bile Pigment

• Published in: Cancer science Vol. 82; no. 7; pp. 755 - 757
• Main Authors: Mori, Haruyo, Otake, Toru, Morimoto, Motoko, Ueba, Noboru, Kunita, Nobuharu, Nakagami, Tatsuyoshi, Yamasaki, Non, Taji, Shiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.1991; Japanese Cancer Association; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: AIDS; AIDS/HIV; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiviral Agents; Bile; Biliverdin; Biliverdine - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Cells, Cultured; Cytotoxicity; HIV; HIV-1 - drug effects; HIV-1 - pathogenicity; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human immunodeficiency virus type 1; Humans; Infectivity; Medical sciences; Molting; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rapid Communication; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; Syncytia; Virions; Virulence - drug effects; Virus Replication - drug effects; Cell culture; HIV-1 virus; Retroviridae; Cytotoxicity; Pharmacology; Bile pigment; In vitro; Biological activity; Dose activity relation; Virus; Cell line; Lentivirinae; Antiviral; Human immunodeficiency virus
• ISSN: 0910-5050; 1347-9032; 1349-7006; 1876-4673
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1991.tb02698.x

Biliverdin (BY) is a bile pigment having anti‐allergic properties. We examined the effect of BV on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) in vitro. BV completely inhibited the cytopathic effect of HIV‐1 in MT‐4 cells at concentrations of 22.2 μg/ml or more. This inhibitory effect was also observed when BV was present during the adsorption period of HIV‐1. However, BV was cytotoxic to MT‐4 cells at concentrations above 800 μg/ml. At a concentration of 66.7 μg/ml, BV completely inhibited syncytia formation by HIV‐infected and uninfected MOLT‐4 cells. Moreover, after exposure of HIV‐1 particles to BV for 2 h, the infectivity of the virus was reduced in a dose‐dependent manner. It is speculated that the anti‐HIV activity of BV is due to direct inactivation of virions and inhibition of virus binding to target cells.