Evaluation of susceptibility of human herpesvirus 8 to antiviral drugs by quantitative real-time PCR.

A new in vitro system based on real-time PCR was developed for evaluation of human herpesvirus 8 susceptibility to antiviral agents. Cidofovir had the greatest inhibitory activity against HHV-8 (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50], 0.43 muM) followed by ganciclovir (2.61 muM), adefovir (18.00 muM), acyclovir (31.00 muM), and foscarnet (34.15 muM). The potential therapeutic efficacy for HHV-8 (i.e., peak serum drug level/IC50) is highest for cidofovir (167) and foscarnet (22).