Class

Article

College

College of Engineering

Department

English Department

Faculty Mentor

David Britt

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpesvirus that affects most of the world’s population. Although most people infected with CMV experience only mild symptoms, it can result in death for those who are immunocompromised. It is one of the leading causes of sensorineural hearing loss in infants. Currently, the most common treatment for CMV is ganciclovir (GCV), but GCV is highly cytotoxic. It has also been shown to cause birth defects in mice. Even though GCV is cytotoxic, GCV needs to be taken frequently for it to be effective. Recent studies in our lab have found using the excipients quercetin and poloxamer 188 (QP188) in addition to lower doses of GCV can be as effective as a GCV treatment on its own. In running cytotoxicity assays for QP188, there was a high variability in the measured values. Because of this high variation, there was some uncertainty in our results. To minimize potential error and uncertainty, we reviewed different methods of performing Neutral Red assays. We found that a combination of multiple methods ran a successful assay for 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells.

Location

Logan, UT

Start Date

4-8-2022 12:00 AM

Included in

Engineering Commons

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Apr 8th, 12:00 AM

Efficacy of Excipients Against Cytomegalovirus

Logan, UT

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpesvirus that affects most of the world’s population. Although most people infected with CMV experience only mild symptoms, it can result in death for those who are immunocompromised. It is one of the leading causes of sensorineural hearing loss in infants. Currently, the most common treatment for CMV is ganciclovir (GCV), but GCV is highly cytotoxic. It has also been shown to cause birth defects in mice. Even though GCV is cytotoxic, GCV needs to be taken frequently for it to be effective. Recent studies in our lab have found using the excipients quercetin and poloxamer 188 (QP188) in addition to lower doses of GCV can be as effective as a GCV treatment on its own. In running cytotoxicity assays for QP188, there was a high variability in the measured values. Because of this high variation, there was some uncertainty in our results. To minimize potential error and uncertainty, we reviewed different methods of performing Neutral Red assays. We found that a combination of multiple methods ran a successful assay for 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells.