In vitro and in vivo broad antiviral activity of peptides homologous to fusion glycoproteins of Newcastle disease virus and Marek's disease virus

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) of paramyxovirus and Marek's disease virus (MDV) of herpesvirus, two of the most serious threats to the poultry industry, can give rise to complex co-infections that hinder diagnosis and prevention. In the current study, two different peptides, derived from the MDV gH (gHH2L) and gB (gBH3), respectively, exhibit antiviral activity against NDV in vitro. The potent inhibitory effect of heptad repeat 2 from fusion glycoprotein of the NDV on MDV infection also has been demonstrated. Plaque formation and embryo infectivity assays confirmed these antiviral results. Furthermore, each tandem peptide consisting of two motifs from different viruses exhibits more potent antiviral activity than the constituent peptides. The current work provides a new strategy for developing novel peptides and vaccines against virus infection and co-infections.