Enhancement of the antiviral activity against caprine herpesvirus type 1 of Acyclovir in association with Mizoribine.

Abstract Caprine herpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1) infection in goats is responsible for genital lesions resembling the lesions induced by herpesvirus 2 in humans (HHV-2). The immunosuppressive drug Mizoribine (MIZ) is able to increase the antiviral activity of Acyclovir (ACV) against herpesvirus infections, raising interesting perspectives on new combined therapeutic strategies. In this study the anti-CpHV-1 activity in vitro of ACV alone or in combination with MIZ was evaluated. ACV (100 μg/ml) displayed an antiviral effect on CpHV-1 replication. This inhibitory effect was higher when ACV (100 μg/ml) was used in association with MIZ (20 μg/ml). Other combinations of ACV and MIZ in various concentrations were not as effective as ACV 100 μg/ml / MIZ 20 μg/ml. These findings suggest that the association of ACV and MIZ is potentially useful for treatment of genital infection by herpesviruses.