Wogonin inhibits in vitro herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 infection by modulating cellular NF-\u03baB and MAPK pathways

Ying Chu,Lianhong Xu,Zhiwei Wu,Xiaowen Lv,Airong Su,Xingli Fu,Zhihua Yun,Siwei Song,Longfeng Zhang,Yongfang Wang,Deyan Chen

doi:10.1186/s12866-020-01916-2

Abstract

BackgroundWogonin, a natural flavonoid-like chemical compound, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, neuroprotective, and anxiolytic effects by modulating a variety of cellular signaling pathways including PI3K-Akt, p53, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. In this study, its antiviral effect against herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) replication was investigated.ResultsWogonin suppressed HSV-2-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and reduced viral mRNA transcription, viral protein synthesis, and infectious virion particle titers in a dose-dependent manner. A time-of-drug-addition assay demonstrated that wogonin acted as a postentry viral inhibitor. Wogonin also significantly reduced HSV-induced NF-κB and MAPK pathway activation, which has previously been demonstrated to be important for viral replication.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the anti-herpes effect of wogonin may be mediated by modulation of cellular NF-κB and JNK/p38 MAPK pathways and imply that wogonin may be useful as an anti-HSV agent.

Highlights

Wogonin, a natural flavonoid-like chemical compound, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, neuroprotective, and anxiolytic effects by modulating a variety of cellular signaling pathways including PI3K-Akt, p53, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways
Wogonin inhibits Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1/2 replication in vitro Under light microscope observation, we found that wogonin inhibited significant visible HSV-2-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) in human endometrial HEC-1-A monolayers
At 24 h post infection (p.i.), intracellular infectious viral particles were released via freeze and thaw cycles, and the virion yields were determined by titration of the plaque forming units (PFUs) in Vero cells

Summary

Introduction

A natural flavonoid-like chemical compound, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, neuroprotective, and anxiolytic effects by modulating a variety of cellular signaling pathways including PI3K-Akt, p53, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Its antiviral effect against herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) replication was investigated. One of the bioactive constituents in Scutellaria radix extract, has been found to exert anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anti-viral, neuroprotective, and anxiolytic effects in recent relevant studies [7]. Previous studies on its antiviral activity focused mainly on its inhibitory effects on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) [8], hepatitis B virus (HBV) [9, 10], and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) [11] replication. The antiviral activity of wogonin has been confirmed, its precise inhibitory mechanism has not been fully elucidated

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