Oral Induction of Interferon by a Low-Molecular-Weight Compound

Abstract

The antiviral activity induced in mice by MA-56 has been characterized as an interferon. Maximum serum concentration is attained within 16-18 hr after feeding a single oral dose ranging from 400 to 500 mg/kg body wt. MA-56 induces a hyporeactive period of at least 40 hr. Interferon-production kinetics and cycloheximide experiments indicate that MA-56, like tilorone, has an induction pattern that can be blocked by cycloheximide and resembles viral induction rather than that of synthetic polynucleotides and bacterial endotoxin. Although MA-56 apparently does not induce a very high concentration of titratable interferon when compared to other inducers, its ability to protect mice against the lethal challenge of several viruses has been demonstrated.