Selection of Antiviral Peptides Against Mink Enteritis Virus Using a Phage Display Peptide Library

Mink enteritis virus (MEV) causes high morbidity and mortality in mink worldwide, and there are no effective treatments. This study used a phage display library to find specific peptides capable of binding MEV and preventing its replication in F81 cells. After three rounds of biopanning, the phage enrichment was 117 times higher than that after the first round. Twelve phage clones that showed threefold higher MEV-binding affinity than controls were selected by ELISA. Following sequence analyses, the peptides RLNNRARIILRA and LAHKSRLYERHM were synthesized and used for antiviral experiments. MTT assays demonstrated that both peptides increased cell viability by > 20 % at 100 mu g/ml when pre-incubated with MEV. However, no effect was seen if the peptides were added 2 h after viral inoculation of cells, indicating that the antiviral activity is due to inhibition of viral attachment to the cell surface.