Adenine arabinoside inhibition of adenovirus replication enhanced by an adenosine deaminase inhibitor.

The inhibition of adenovirus multiplication by adenine arabinoside was determined by yield reduction in one-step multiplication cycle. Inhibition was greatly enhanced by an adenosine deaminase inhibitor (2-deoxycoformycin) in concentrations down to 10 ng/ml. Adenovirus types from four subgroups showed similar results. However, the enhancing effect of adenosine deaminase inhibitor was great in HeLa cells, moderate in human fibroblasts, and negligible in Vero cells. This difference could be explained by different concentrations of adenosine deaminase found in cell homogenates.