%0 Journal Article
%T Iota-Carrageenan Is a Potent Inhibitor of Influenza A Virus Infection
%A Andreas Leibbrandt
%A Christiane Meier
%A Marielle K£¿nig-Schuster
%A Regina Weinm¨¹llner
%A Donata Kalthoff
%A Bettina Pflugfelder
%A Philipp Graf
%A Britta Frank-Gehrke
%A Martin Beer
%A Tamas Fazekas
%A Hermann Unger
%A Eva Prieschl-Grassauer
%A Andreas Grassauer
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0014320
%X The 2009 flu pandemic and the appearance of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 influenza strains highlight the need for treatment alternatives. One such option is the creation of a protective physical barrier in the nasal cavity. In vitro tests demonstrated that iota-carrageenan is a potent inhibitor of influenza A virus infection, most importantly also of pandemic H1N1/2009 in vitro. Consequently, we tested a commercially available nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan in an influenza A mouse infection model. Treatment of mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza A PR8/34 H1N1 virus with iota-carrageenan starting up to 48 hours post infection resulted in a strong protection of mice similar to mice treated with oseltamivir. Since alternative treatment options for influenza are rare, we conclude that the nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan is an alternative to neuraminidase inhibitors and should be tested for prevention and treatment of influenza A in clinical trials in humans.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014320