Abstract
Herpes simplex virus (HSV), a common latent virus in humans, causes certain severe diseases. Extensive use of acyclovir (ACV) results in the development of drug-resistant HSV strains, hence, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to treat HSV infection. Houttuynia cordata (H. cordata), a natural herbal medicine, has been reported to exhibit anti-HSV effects which is partly NF-κB-dependent. However, the molecular mechanisms by which H. cordata inhibits HSV infection are not elucidated thoroughly. Here, we report that H. cordata water extracts (HCWEs) inhibit the infection of HSV-1, HSV-2, and acyclovir-resistant HSV-1 mainly via blocking viral binding and penetration in the beginning of infection. HCWEs also suppress HSV replication. Furthermore, HCWEs attenuate the first-wave of NF-κB activation, which is essential for viral gene expressions. Further analysis of six compounds in HCWEs revealed that quercetin and isoquercitrin inhibit NF-κB activation and additionally, quercetin also has an inhibitory effect on viral entry. These results indicate that HCWEs can inhibit HSV infection through multiple mechanisms and could be a potential lead for development of new drugs for treating HSV.
Highlights
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a double-stranded DNA virus of the herpesviridae family
Before we performed this study we first measured the anti-HSV activity of H. cordata water extracts (HCWEs) because the activity may be different from previous reports due to the different sources of H. cordata and different extraction procedures [27, 28]
The anti-HSV activity of HCWEs was determined by the plaque reduction assay
Summary
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a double-stranded DNA virus of the herpesviridae family. HSV-1 can infect the oral mucosa, eyes, nasal mucosa, oropharynx, and nervous system and may cause severe complications including blindness, atypical pneumonia, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and even death [1,2,3]. HSV-2 is commonly transmitted through the sexual route potentially causing meningitis and encephalitis [4]. HSV infections are commonly treated with nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir (ACV) and pencyclovir and certain highly bioavailable prodrugs such as valacyclovir and famciclovir [10, 11].
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