Abstract
The new epidemiological scenario has so far focused on the environmental circulation of human viral pathogens. Owing to the side effects of chemical disinfectants, there is an increasing need for knowledge on the use of virucidal compounds, especially those of a natural origin. Climacostol is a molecule produced by a freshwater ciliate and it exhibits activity against bacterial and fungal pathogens. We thus also speculated that there might be an effect on viral viability, which has never been tested. To evaluate such activity, we chose human adenovirus (HAdV), which is representative of waterborne viruses. We conducted experiments using HAdV serotype 5, whose titer was determined by infecting HeLa cell cultures. HAdV5 was shown to be sensitive to climacostol at a concentration of 0.0002 mg/mL, with an approximate 3 Log10 reduction when the initial titer of HAdV5 was approximately 104 and 103 TCID50/mL. These preliminary results could be an important starting point for further research aimed at improving the characterization of climacostol activity under different experimental conditions and against various viruses, including enveloped ones (i.e., the coronavirus). The production of climacostol by a protist living in fresh water also suggests a possible application in the activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants.
Highlights
The environmental circulation of human viral pathogens is a topic of great interest, today with the occurrence of new epidemiological scenarios [1]
A clear effect on Henrietta Lacks (HeLa) cells with the alteration of morphology and loss of viability was revealed for the dilutions ranging from 0.2 to 0.002 mg/mL, while the cells remained alive for the other climacostol dilutions
The reduction effect on HAdV5 replication was evaluated by comparing the viral titers of the negative control and the suspension treated with climacostol (Figure 3)
Summary
The environmental circulation of human viral pathogens is a topic of great interest, today with the occurrence of new epidemiological scenarios [1]. Several publications underline the role of different natural compounds on viral inactivation and their possible use as alternatives to chemical substances [3,4,5]. Autotrophic species have antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities [6], and in ciliated protists, many of these compounds appear to be the results of evolutionary selection associated with either attack or defense mechanisms [7]. These substances include climacostol (5-[(2Z)-non-2-en-1-yl]benzene-1,3-diol), Viruses 2020, 12, 658; doi:10.3390/v12060658 www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses
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