Abstract
Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an important pathogen that threatens the global swine industry. Currently, there is no effective drug that can clinically prevent or treat PRV infections. Isobavachalcone (IBC), a natural chalcone compound derived from Psoralea corylifolia, displays multiple biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities. Recently, it was found that IBC exhibited antiviral activity against an RNA virus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), in vitro. In the current study, we further demonstrated for the first time that IBC has a strong inhibitory effect on PRV. Through a viral luciferase expression assay, we showed that the inhibition step occurs mainly in the late stage of viral replication. Finally, via a cell-to-cell fusion assay, we demonstrated that IBC inhibits PRV by blocking virus-mediated cell fusion. Thus, IBC may be a candidate for further therapeutic evaluation against PRV infection in vivo.
Highlights
Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a swine alphaherpesvirus that causes Aujeszky’s disease in pigs [1, 2]
We evaluated the antiviral activity of IBC via a recombinant PRV reporter virus expressing both enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and firefly luciferase [10]. These results showed that both EGFP expression and luciferase activity were significantly decreased in the IBC-treated group compared to the control group (Fig. 2a and b), indicating that PRV replication was significantly inhibited
To exclude the possibility that the cell-to-cell fusion was caused by inhibition of gB expression by IBC, we evaluated gB expression with a gB-specific monoclonal antibody (1:200; the gB mAb was kindly provided by Professor Zhi-Jun Tian of the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)
Summary
Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a swine alphaherpesvirus that causes Aujeszky’s disease in pigs [1, 2]. Recent studies have reported that humans can be infected by PRV [5,6,7], indicating that PRV is a potential threat to humans [6]. We explored the potential anti-PRV activity of isobavachalcone (IBC), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
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