[Studies on the effects of rhTNF-alpha anti-replication against EHFV and HAV in vitro]

It was demonstrated in this study that rhTNF-alpha can inhibit the replication of epidemic hemorrhagic fever virus and hepatitis A virus in tissue culture. EHFV infection produced strong fluorescence ( - +) on Vero-E6 cells after 9 days. In the rhTNF-alpha treated group, however the fluorescence was very weak (- or +/-). rhTNF-alpha also showed anti-HAV effects on 2BS cells. The fluorescence intensity on 2BS cells infected by HAV was - +, but in the rhTNF-alpha treated group, the fluorescence was negative. We observed that rhTNF-alpha inhibited EHFV antigen expression on Vero-E6 at different times (-2h, 0h, +2h). Dr. Old had recently suggested that the physiological role of rhTNF-alpha is that of a protective agent against infectious diseases, and this view is supported by our findings.