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HOME > J. Microbiol > Volume 59(11); 2021 > Article
Journal Article
Antiviral effects of human placenta hydrolysate (Laennec) against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in the ferret model
Eun-Ha Kim 1,2, Young-il Kim 1,2, Seung-Gyu Jang 1,2, Minju Im 3, Kyeongsoo Jeong 3, Young Ki Choi 1,2, Hae-Jung Han 3
Journal of Microbiology 2021;59(11):1056-1062.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-021-1367-2
Published online: October 6, 2021
1College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea, 2Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea , 3GREENCROSS WellBeing Co., Ltd., Seoul 07335, Republic of Korea
Corresponding author:  Young Ki Choi , Tel: +82-43-249-1617, 
Hae-Jung Han , Tel: +82-43-249-1617, 
Received: 6 July 2021   • Revised: 20 August 2021   • Accepted: 31 August 2021
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented health, social, and economic crises worldwide. However, to date, there is an only a limited effective treatment for this disease. Human placenta hydrolysate (hPH) has previously been shown to be safe and to improve the health condition in patients with hyperferritinemia and COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to determine the antiviral effects of hPH against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo models and compared with Remdesivir, an FDA-approved drug for COVID-19 treatment. To assess whether hPH inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication, we determined the CC50, EC50, and selective index (SI) in Vero cells by infection with a SARS-CoV-2 at an MOI of 0.01. Further, groups of ferrets infected with 105.8 TCID50/ml of SARS-CoV-2 and treated with hPH at 2, 4, 6 dpi, and compared their clinical manifestation and virus titers in respiratory tracts with PBS control-treated group. The mRNA expression of immunerelated cytokines was determined by qRT-PCR. hPH treatment attenuated virus replication in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. In a ferret infection study, treatment with hPH resulted in minimal bodyweight loss and attenuated virus replication in the nasal wash, turbinates, and lungs of infected ferrets. In addition, qRT-PCR results revealed that the hPH treatment remarkably upregulated the gene expression of type I (IFN-α and IFN-β) and II (IFN-γ) IFNs in SARS-CoV-2 infected ferrets. Our data collectively suggest that hPH has antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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    Antiviral effects of human placenta hydrolysate (Laennec) against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in the ferret model
    J. Microbiol. 2021;59(11):1056-1062.   Published online October 6, 2021
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-021-1367-2
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