Antiviral activity of S-7HNa on the infectivity and replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 in cultured cells.

The effect of sodium salt of the acid related to ester S-7 (i.e. S-7HNa) on the infectivity and replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 in Vero cultured cells was studied. S-7HNa, at the highest concentration lacking cytotoxicity (10 mM), produced, at various inocula, a 70% inhibition of HSV-1 infectivity with respect to the plaque formation detected in control infected cultures. This inhibitory activity was substantiated by studies on progeny production. S-7HNa revealed a therapeutic index higher than that of the correlative ester (S-7).