Abstract
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common human virus affecting many people worldwide. HSV infections manifest with lesions that occur in different parts of the body, including oral, ocular, nasal, and genital skin and mucosa. In rare cases, HSV infections can be serious and lethal. Several anti-HSV drugs have been developed, but the existence of mutant viruses resistant to these drugs led to the individuation of novel antiviral agents. Plant-derived bioactive compounds, and more specifically polyphenols, have been demonstrated to exert marked anti-HSV activity and, among these, resveratrol (RSV) would be considered a good candidate. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the available literature elucidating the efficacy of RSV against HSV and the main demonstrated mechanisms of action.
Highlights
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common human, double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Herpesviridae family, which can persist latently for life in the neurons of infected individuals
HSV infection causes skin lesions that are generally localized at the oral, nasal, and ocular level with HSV-1 infection, whereas with HSV-2, infections most commonly occur at genital-skin and mucosa sites
It was recently demonstrated that RSV at a low μM dose effectively blocked human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection in CD4 T cells via a reduction in the levels of deoxynucleoside triphosphate, which are necessary for the reverse transcription of viral RNA; this effect is mainly due to the inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase activity by RSV [23]
Summary
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common human, double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Herpesviridae family, which can persist latently for life in the neurons of infected individuals. These treatments consist of the use of nucleoside analogues, including acyclovir and its derivatives (penciclovir, famciclovir, and valacyclovir), which act by inhibiting the viral DNA polymerase, preventing viral DNA synthesis These compounds require an initial activation by phosphorilations dependent on viral and host kinases, and may cause the termination of Viruses 2018, 10, 473; doi:10.3390/v10090473 www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses. The existence of drug resistance in HSV guided the research towards the development of novel treatments for HSV infections In this context, natural products, and polyphenols, have been reported as promising antiviral agents; the proven efficacy and almost total absence of side effects contributed to the growing interest in the study of the activities of these compounds [5]. After the exclusion of virus”; studies not meeting the aim of our manuscript, articles were analyzed and subdivided subdivided in in vitro and in vivo studies
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