Progress on the protective effect of heme oxygenase-1 in viral infection

ABSTRACT

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a cytoprotective enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of heme to CO, biliverdin, and iron, which together protect cells from oxidative and inflammatory damage and play an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis. In recent years, HO-1 has also been found to have antiviral biological effects, and the induced expression of HO-1 inhibits the replication of various viruses such as hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, dengue virus, ebolavirus, influenza A virus, Zika virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, human respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis A virus and enterovirus 71. The inhibitory effect of HO-1 on these viruses involves three mechanisms, including direct inhibition of virus replication by HO-1 and its downstream products, enhancement of type I interferon responses in host cell, and attenuation of inflammatory damage caused by viral infection. This review focuses on the recent advances in the antiviral effect of HO-1 and its mechanism, which is expected to provide evidence for HO-1 as a potential target for antiviral therapy.