Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose and glucosamine on bovine respiratory syncytial virus

2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-dG) and glucosamine reversibly inhibited the replication and cytopathic effects of bovine respiratory syncytial virus in bovine turbinate cell cultures. The inhibitors were effective when added up to 12 hours after cell cultures were inoculated. Their effectiveness decreased as the time between inoculation of cells and drug treatment lengthened. The sugars did not inactivate the virus directly, and inoculation of drug-treated cells in drug-free medium produced normal yield of virus. Mannose fully reversed the inhibitory effects of 2-dG, but was ineffective for glucosamine. Protein synthesis was necessary for production and release of infective virus after removal of 2-dG and glucosamine blocks. Electron microscopic studies revealed a large amount of bovine respiratory syncytial virus production with characteristic spike-like projections on the viral envelopes in the absence of these inhibitors. There was a drastic reduction in the number of mature virions produced in inhibitor-treated bovine turbinate cells, and the virions lacked the characteristic surface projections.