Antiviral Properties of R. tanguticum Nanoparticles on Herpes Simplex Virus Type I In Vitro and In Vivo

• Published in: Frontiers in pharmacology 2019-09, Vol.10, p.959-959
• Main Authors: Shen, Meng-xin, Ma, Nian, Li, Min-ke, Liu, Yuan-yuan, Chen, Tian, Wei, Fei, Liu, Dong-ying, Hou, Wei, Xiong, Hai-rong, Yang, Zhan-qiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antiviral; HSV-1; mouse model; Pharmacology; R. tanguticum nanoparticles; viral protein
• ISSN: 1663-9812; 1663-9812
• DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.00959

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), an enveloped DNA virus, plays a key role in varieties of diseases including recurrent cold sores, keratoconjunctivitis, genital herpes and encephalitis in humans. Great efforts have been made in developing more effective and less side-effects anti-herpes simplex virus agents, including traditional Chinese herbal medicines. In the present study, we evaluated the antiviral efficacy of Rheum tanguticum nanoparticles against HSV-1 in vitro and in vivo . R. tanguticum nanoparticles could inactivate the HSV-1 virions and block the viral attachment and entry into cells. Time-of-addition assay indicated that R. tanguticum nanoparticles could interfere with the entire phase of viral replication. Besides, R. tanguticum nanoparticles showed the ability to inhibit the mRNA expression of HSV-1 immediate early gene ICP4 and early gene ICP8 as well as the expression of viral protein ICP4 and ICP8 . Moreover, R. tanguticum nanoparticles have been proved to protect mice against HSV-1 induced lethality by decreasing the viral load and alleviated pathological changes in brain tissues. In conclusion, we demonstrated that R. tanguticum nanoparticles could inhibit HSV-1 infection through multiple mechanisms. These results suggest that R. tanguticum nanoparticles may have novel roles in the treatment of HSV-1 infection.