Inhibition of MSV viral function by rifampicin derivatives

Immunological and chemotherapeutic prevention and control of oncogenic viruses

Computed tomographic (CT) and surgical findings were correlated retrospectively in 51 patients with preoperative diagnoses of prolactin-secreting pituitary microadenomas. Twenty-four had microadenomas at surgery. Twenty-eight had identifiable discrete lesions. Of these, 18 had microadenomas and 10 did not; these two groups could not be distinguished reliably. Six patients with proven microadenomas had normal CT scans. Focal hypodense lesions, sellar floor erosion, infundibulum displacement, gland height greater than 8 mm, and an abnormal diaphragma sellae configuration are neither sensitive nor specific findings of microadenoma. A significant number of patients with proven microadenomas had few or none of these abnormalities. Thus, recognition of prolactin microadenoma is seldom possible by CT alone, even with high-resolution direct coronal imaging.

The specificity of dimethylbenzylrifampicin as an inhibitor of viral induced transformation

The effect of 2',6'-dimethyl-N(4')-benzyl-N(4')- [desmethyl]rifampicin on viral transformation induced by two unrelated oncogenic viruses was compared. Transformation of Balb/3T3 cells by the small, DNA-containing papova virus simian virus 40 was completely normal under conditions where transformation by the large, RNA-containing oncornavirus murine sarcoma virus was inhibited more than 150-fold. For these experiments a resistant variant of Balb/3T3 was selected that grows well in high concentrations of the drug, is not dependent on the drug for growth, and is probably not blocked at the level of drug uptake. These data show that dimethyl-benzylrifampicin specifically inhibits oncornavirus-induced transformation rather than nonspecifically inhibiting cellular growth or transformation.

Synergistic effect of rifamycin derivatives and amphotericin B on viral transformation of a murine cell line

One of the most potent inhibitors of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity so far described (rifazacyclo-16) was not correspondingly as active in focus inhibition. This discrepancy was thought to be due to the inability of the drug to penetrate the cell membrane. It has been found that a very low level of amphotericin B allows this drug, as well as the previously described 2',6'-dimethyl-N(4')benzyl-N(4')-[desmethyl] rifampicin, to exhibit a very high capability to inhibit focus formation. Since these two drugs are highly lipophilie, their activity may be expected to be dependent upon any lipophilic components in the medium, such as serum or detergents. The use of amphotericin B as well as serum in tissue cultures is common, and could account for some of the variability in focus inhibition reported in the literature.