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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.04.09.034983

Classical drug digitoxin inhibits influenza cytokine storm, with implications for COVID-19 therapy.

Pollard, H. B.·Pollard, B. S.·Pollard, J. R.
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Abstract

Influenza viruses, corona viruses and related pneumotropic viruses cause sickness and death partly by inducing a hyper-proinflammatory response by immune cells and cytokines in the host airway. Here we show that the cardiac glycoside digitoxin suppresses this response induced by influenza virus strain A/Wuhan/H3N2/359/95 in the cotton rat lung. The cytokines TNF, GRO/KC, MIP2, MCP1, TGF{beta}, and IFN{gamma}. are significantly and differentially reduced. Since the hyper-proinflammatory expression of cytokines is a host response, we suggest that digitoxin may have therapeutic potential for not only influenza and but also for coronavirus infections.

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Pollard, H. B., Pollard, B. S., Pollard, J. R.. 2020-04-11. Classical drug digitoxin inhibits influenza cytokine storm, with implications for COVID-19 therapy.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.09.034983

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