Arbidol increases the survival rate by mitigating inflammation in suckling mice infected with human coronavirus OC43 virus

Abstract Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV‐OC43) often causes common cold and is able to neuroinvasive, but it can also induce lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) especially in children and the elderly adults with underlying diseases. HCoV‐OC43 infections currently have no approved antiviral treatment. Arbidol (ARB) is a broad‐spectrum antiviral and is an antiviral medication for the treatment of influenza used in Russia and China. Due to its multiple mechanisms of action, such as inhibition of viral fusion and entry, immunomodulation, and modulation of host cell signaling pathways, ARB has the potential to be an effective treatment option for viral infections. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the activities of ARB against HCoV‐OC43 infections. Suckling mice were infected with HCoV‐OC43 and treated with ARB (50, 25 and 12.5 mg/kg/d) by gavage once daily for 4 days. the survival rates and body weight were recorded, the viral titer was measured by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, cytokine levels were measured by Bio‐Plex assays. Histopathological changes of the lungs and brain were analyzed. Our results show ARB increased the survival rate, reduced viral copy numbers in the lung, mitigated pro‐inflammatory cytokine production, and improved brain and lung histopathology significantly without any significant toxicity or side effects in vivo. Our results suggest ARB could be a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of HCoV‐OC43 while further studies are needed to address these possibilities and the underlying mechanism.