Porcine deltacoronavirus infection is inhibited by Griffithsin in cell culture

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging porcine enteric coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea in piglets and results in serious economic losses. There are no effective vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent and treat PDCoV infection currently. Griffithsin (GRFT) is a lectin with potent antiviral activity against enveloped viruses because of its ability to specifically bind N-linked high-mannose oligosaccharides. GRFT has been reported to possess antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Here, we first confirmed the antiviral activity of GRFT against PDCoV in vitro. The infected cells (%) and virus titers were significantly decreased at concentration 1 μg/mL or above of GRFT. Time-course experiments revealed that GRFT inhibits PDCoV infection at the adsorption and penetration step. GRFT binding to PDCoV spike (S) protein on the surface wraps the virus and blocks its entry. The outstanding antiviral potency indicates that GRFT has the potential value as a candidate drug for the prevention and treatment of PDCoV infection.