Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
J Feline Med Surg. 2021 Apr;23(4):400-404. doi: 10.1177/1098612X20944363. Epub 2020 Aug 4.
Feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) is a prevalent cause of ocular disease in cats and limited topical options for treatment currently exist. The first objective of this study was to confirm the efficacy of ganciclovir against FHV-1 in vitro. The second objective was to assess the safety and ocular tolerability of topically applied ganciclovir eye gel (GEG) in healthy cats.
FHV-1 was used to infect tissue culture wells covered in maximally confluent Crandall-Rees feline kidney cells prior to the addition of three molarities of ganciclovir (8.9 µM, 17.8 µM and 89 µM) before being incubated for 48 h. Ganciclovir efficacy in vitro was then assessed using standard plaque reduction assay. Commercially available GEG (0.15%) was applied q8h to one randomly chosen eye of four healthy cats for 7 days. Commercially available lubricating eye gel (LEG) was applied to the opposite eye q8h. Complete blood counts (CBCs), blood chemistry panels (CHEM) and urinalysis (UA) were performed on all cats before and after the study period. Ocular lesions were assessed daily using a standardized scheme.
Ganciclovir led to a significant reduction in FHV-1 plaque number, area and diameter at all tested molarities in vitro. The highest molarity assessed (89 µM) caused a 100% reduction in viral plaque number. There was no significant difference in ocular lesion scores between eyes receiving GEG and LEG. Animals remained healthy throughout the study period with CBC, CHEM and UA showing no clinically significant alterations.
Based on the in vitro results, ganciclovir appears to be effective against FHV-1 in vitro. When applied q8h as a commercial 0.15% gel to a small group of cats with normal eyes, this medication was well tolerated. Taken together, these data suggest this medication warrants further investigation in cats with ocular disease caused by FHV-1.
猫疱疹病毒 1 型（FHV-1）是导致猫眼部疾病的常见原因，目前治疗方法有限。本研究的首要目标是确认更昔洛韦对 FHV-1 的体外疗效。第二个目标是评估在健康猫中局部应用更昔洛韦眼凝胶（GEG）的安全性和眼部耐受性。
在添加三种摩尔浓度的更昔洛韦（8.9μM、17.8μM 和 89μM）之前，先用 FHV-1 感染铺满最大汇合度的猫肾细胞的组织培养孔，然后孵育 48 小时。然后使用标准蚀斑减少测定法评估更昔洛韦的体外疗效。将市售的 GEG（0.15%）应用于四只健康猫中的一只随机选择的眼睛，每天 8 小时一次，共 7 天。将市售的润滑眼凝胶（LEG）以 8 小时一次的频率应用于对侧眼睛。在研究前后对所有猫进行全血细胞计数（CBC）、血液化学分析（CHEM）和尿液分析（UA）。使用标准化方案每天评估眼部病变。
在体外，更昔洛韦在所有测试的摩尔浓度下均导致 FHV-1 蚀斑数量、面积和直径显著减少。评估的最高摩尔浓度（89μM）导致病毒蚀斑数量完全减少。接受 GEG 和 LEG 的眼睛之间的眼部病变评分没有显著差异。在整个研究期间，动物保持健康，CBC、CHEM 和 UA 未显示出临床显著改变。
根据体外结果，更昔洛韦似乎对 FHV-1 具有体外疗效。当作为市售的 0.15%凝胶以 8 小时一次的频率应用于一组具有正常眼睛的小型猫时，这种药物具有良好的耐受性。总的来说，这些数据表明这种药物值得进一步研究，以治疗由 FHV-1 引起的眼部疾病的猫。
