Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) is an inhibitor of protein synthesis that has diverse biological activities.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8}It inhibits the activity of a variety of enzymes, including the nucleases DNase I, RNase A, and S1, as well as the serine proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin in a concentration-dependent manner.^2,3ATA inhibits replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV; EC₅₀= 200 µg/ml) and human enterovirus 71 in Vero cells (EV71; EC₅₀= 2.9 µM), as well as reduces HIV-1- or HIV-2-induced cytopathogenicity in MT-4 cells (IC₅₀s = 1.1 and 0.85 µg/ml, respectively).^4,5,6It inhibits apoptosis induced by sanguinarine in K562 leukemia cells when used at a concentration of 100 µM.⁷ATA (20 mg/kg, i.p.) decreases CNS CD4⁺T cell infiltration and reduces hind limb weakness and paralysis in a mouse model of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).⁸

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