Effects of Morphine on Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1&2

Background and Aims: Several drugs are being used in treatment of HSV infection in human but still introducing an effective safe drug is desirable. Methods: We investigated the inhibitory effect of morphine on replication of HSV in vitro. Results: The results indicated that a concentration of up to 200 ug/ml morphine had a limited effect on Vero cell viability. At this concentration the growth of HSV was inhibited considerably and after the third passage in presence of morphine it was completely diminished. Presence of viral antigens in infected cells in presence of morphine by IF staining showed that after the first passage a small number of infected cells contained viral proteins and at the third passage no cells with viral antigen was observed. Conclusion: This was confirmed by page and immunobloting techniques. Electron microscopy observation in cellular section indicated that there was no virus present in treated cells as compared with control untreated infected cells.