Infectivity and Morphology of Bovine Coronavirus Inactivated In Vitro by Cationic Photosensitizers

Bovine coronaviruses (BCoVs), which cause gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in cattle, and are genetically related to the human coronavirus HCoV-OC43, which is responsible for up to 10% of common colds, attract increased attention. We applied the method of photodynamic inactivation with cationic photosensitizers (PSs) to reduce the titers of BCoV and studied the morphological structure of viral particles under various modes of photodynamic exposure. The samples of virus containing liquid with an initial virus titer of 5 Log(10) TCID50/mL were incubated with methylene blue (MB) or octakis(cholinyl)zinc phthalocyanine (Zn-PcChol(8+)) at concentrations of 1–5 μM for 10 min in the dark at room temperature. After incubation, samples were irradiated with LED (emission with maximum at 663 nm for MB or at 686 nm for Zn-PcChol(8+)) with light doses of 1.5 or 4 J/cm(2). Next, the irradiation titrated virus containing liquid was studied using negative staining transmission electron microscopy. MB and Zn-PcChol(8+) at concentrations of 1–5 μM, in combination with red light from LED sources in the low doses of 1.5–4.0 J/cm(2), led to a decrease in BCoV titers by at least four orders of magnitude from the initial titer 5 Log(10) TCID50/mL. Morphological changes in photodamaged BCoVs with increasing PS concentrations were loss of spikes, change in shape, decreased size of virus particles, destruction of the envelope, and complete disintegration of viruses. BCoV has been found to be sensitive to MB, which is the well-known approved drug, even in the absence of light.