Innate antiviral defenses in body fluids and tissues

Innate, non-specific, resistance mechanisms are important barriers to patho gens, particularly delaying virus multiplication at the onset of infections . These innate defense mechanisms include a series of mechanical barriers, pre-existing inhibitory molecules, and cellular responses with antimicrobia l activity. The antiviral activities of these innate inhibitors reside in a variety of partly characterized substances. This review presents the innat e antiviral inhibitors in cell cultures, urine, serum, the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous system, tissues of crustaceans, and saliva. Medical ada ptation of the innate antiviral defense mechanisms may be useful for preven tion and treatment of viral infections. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.