Our findings imply that the LiCl has the potential to be used as anti-PRRSV therapy.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most serious diseases affecting the swine industry worldwide; however, there is no efficient control strategies against PRRSV at present. Therefore, development of new antiviral treatment strategies is urgently needed. As reported, germacrone can efficiently impair influenza virus replication. In this study, we exploited whether germacrone has the potential to inhibit PRRSV infection. Our results showed that the germacrone significantly inhibited replication of PRRSV in vitro and repressed the synthesis of viral RNA and protein. However, it did not block PRRSV binding and entry. Further studies confirmed that germacrone impaired PRRSV replication at an early stage, and inhibited infection of both classic and highly pathogenic type II PRRSV strains. Collectively, our findings imply that the germacrone has the potential to be used as an anti-PRRSV drug.