Antiviral action of interferon-alpha against porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus

Swine testis (ST) cell cultures were treated with various doses of recombinant human interferon-alpha 2a (IFN), and assayed for 2′,5′ oligoadenylate synthetase (2–5 A synthetase) activity. Treatment with 100 or 1000 units/ml of IFN resulted in increased 2–5 A synthetase activity, but there was no significant response to 1 unit/ml of IFN. Titres of porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) were reduced between 6 and 15 hours post-infection in ST cells treated with 1000 or 2500 units/ml of IFN. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of lysates of TGEV-infected ST cells, and of lysates immunoprecipitated with anti-TGEV antibodies, revealed that the synthesis of the N and S proteins of TGEV was reduced in cells treated with 100 or 1000 units/ml of IFN. Viral RNA production, as determined with a probe which hybridized to the S gene of TGEV, was found to be reduced in ST cells treated with 1000 units/ml of IFN, but not in cells treated with 100 units/ml. It was concluded that, in IFN-treated ST cells, TGEV protein production may be decreased in the absence of reduced viral RNA production, and that 2–5 A synthetase may not be a significant factor in the antiviral activity of IFN against TGEV.