Antiviral Effect of Manganese against Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Both in PK15 Cells and Mice

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an acute contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep. Current emergency FMD vaccines are of limited use for early protection because their protective effect starts 7 days after vaccination. Therefore, antiviral drugs or additives are used to rapidly stop the spread of the virus during FMD outbreaks. Manganese (Mn(2+)) was recently found to be an important substance necessary for the host to protect against DNA viruses. However, its antiviral effect against RNA viruses remains unknown. In this study, we found that Mn(2+) has antiviral effects on the FMD virus (FMDV) both in PK15 cells and mice. The inhibitory effect of Mn(2+) on FMDV involves NF-κB activation and up-regulation of interferon-stimulated genes. Animal experiments showed that Mn(2+) can be highly effective in protecting C57BL/6N mice from being infected with FMDV. Overall, we suggest Mn(2+) as an effective antiviral additive for controlling FMDV infection.