Abstract

Recently, the antiviral 5-ethynyl-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylimidazole-4-carboxamide (EICAR) was shown to inhibit the replication of the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV). In order to obtain more information about the mechanism of the antiviral action of EICAR we studied its effect on viral macromolecules synthesis. EICAR was found to inhibit IPNV messenger and genomic RNA synthesis. To inhibit viral RNA synthesis, EICAR must be added at least 3 h before the start of RNA synthesis. This suggests that EICAR does not directly affect the viral RNA polymerization process. Moreover, the antiviral action of EICAR was reversed by the exogenous addition; of guanosine (5-50 mu g/ml), but not adenosine or cytidine (10-100 mu g/ml). Our findings suggest that the antiviral action of EICAR is mediated by a reduction of the intracellular guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) pool level, as has been observed with ribavirin and EICAR in other biological systems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.