Antiviral-soaked amniotic membrane shows potential to treat herpetic infections

This in vitro study investigated the ability of amniotic membrane (AM) incubated with antiviral drugs to inhibit viral growth. The results show this technique has potential to improve our armamentarium for treating infections..

The authors incubated AM samples with a solution of acyclovir or trifluridine. The treated AM was placed onto monolayers of Vero cells, a continuous cell line from monkey kidney, infected with herpes simplex virus. The authors assessed viral growth in comparison to control infected cells by direct examination with an inverted microscope at low magnification for the presence and extension of the typical cytopathic effect or by estimation of viral genomes.

They found that AM soaked in acyclovir or trifluridine inhibited significantly the development of herpes simplex virus in cell cultures, based on the viral growth compared with controls. Nontreated AM did not significantly affect viral replication.

The authors say their results suggest the application of antiviral-treated AM as adjunctive therapy for herpetic ocular infections due to its potential effectiveness as a drug delivery system and its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties.