The Addition of Arachidin 1 or Arachidin 3 to Human Rotavirus-infected Cells Inhibits Viral Replication and Alters the Apoptotic Cell Death Pathway

Stephen F. Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Student Center Theatre and Twilight Ballroom

Rotavirus (RV) infections are a leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and children under the age of five. There are two vaccines available in the United States and one in India that can be administered early in childhood, however they only protect against specific strains1. From our previous work, both arachidin-1 (A1) and arachidin-3 (A3) from peanut (Arachis hypogaea) hairy root cultures significantly inhibit simian RV replication2,3,4. The purpose of this study was to determine if a human intestinal cell line, HT29.f8, infected with a human RV, Wa, was affected by A1 and A3. Cell viability assays were utilized to determine if A1 and A3 affect the HT29.f8 cells with/without RV infections. At eighteen hours post infection (hpi), supernatants from the RV-infected HT29.f8 cells with/without the arachidins were used in plaque forming assays to quantify and compare the amount of infectious RV particles that are produced during an infection. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to visualize cell ultrastructure and individual RV particles. Additionally, tunable resistive pulse sensing technology (TRPS) using the qNano system by IZON was employed to quantify and measure virus particle sizes, and display the size distribution of RV particles. Likewise, quantitative real time polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCR) were performed to determine if A1 and A3 regulated cell death pathways in the HT29.f8 cell line. This data will guide our future studies to determine the antiviral mechanism(s) of action of A1 and A3.