Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (2): 826-838.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.02.031

• Preventive Veterinary Medicine • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In vitro Screening of Tibetan Medicine with Inhibitory Effects on Bovine Coronavirus Replication

ZHAO Long1(), LIN Jingyi1, DOU Wei1, XU Tingxuan1, GU Qingyun2, GAO Haihui1,3, LI Shengqing4,*(), GUO Kangkang1,*()   

  1. 1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
    2. Tibet Veterinary Medicine Key Laboratory of Xizang Vocational and Technical College, Lhasa, Tibet 850030, China
    3. Institute of Animal Science, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750002, China
    4. Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810016, China
  • Received:2024-04-02 Online:2025-02-23 Published:2025-02-26
  • Contact: LI Shengqing, GUO Kangkang E-mail:448069517@qq.com;lsq.8008@163.com;guokk2007@nwsuaf.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study was aimed at screening Tibetan medicines exerting inhibitory effects on the in vitro replication of Bovine coronavirus (BCoV). To achieve this, a prokaryotic expression vector encoding the BCoV nucleocapsid (N) protein was constructed. Following induced expression, the purified N protein was used to immunize mice and rabbits, resulting in the production of mouse anti-N protein polyclonal antibodies and rabbit anti-N protein antibodies. Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) techniques were subsequently developed to assess BCoV replication. The water extract of 21 candidate Tibetan medicines was obtained by water decoction method. The maximum safe concentration of water extract on human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HCT-8) was determined by CCK-8. HCT-8 cells infected with BCoV were used as the research object, and BCoV infection group, Tibetan medicine water extract treatment group and ribavirin treatment group were set up respectively. After 24 h of BCoV infection, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, Western blot and IFA were used to determine the replication of BCoV in cells. The inhibitory effect of Tibetan medicine on virus replication was statistically analyzed, and Tibetan medicine with significant inhibitory effect on BCoV was screened. The polyclonal antibodies of mouse anti-BCoV N protein and rabbit anti-BCoV N protein were prepared respectively, and the Western blot and IFA methods for detecting BCoV were established. Among the 21 Tibetan medicines, 15 had significant inhibitory effects on BCoV replication (P < 0.01). Among them, the inhibitory effects of three Tibetan medicines, Euphorbia altotibetica Paulsen, Terminalia chebula Retz., and Stellera chamaejasme L. on BCoV replication were better than those of ribavirin. In this study, 15 Tibetan medicines with inhibitory effects on BCoV replication in vitro were screened. Among them, three Tibetan medicines, Euphorbia altotibetica Paulsen, Terminalia chebula Retz., and Stellera chamaejasme L. had significant inhibitory effects, which laid a foundation for the development of BCoV prevention and treatment drugs.

Key words: bovine coronavirus, N protein, polyclonal antibody, Tibetan medicine, viral replication

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