Antiviral, Cytoprotective, and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke Ethanolic Wood Extract on Chikungunya Virus Infection.

Chikungunya fever, a debilitating disease caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), is characterized by a high fever of sudden onset and an intense arthralgia that impairs individual regular activities. Although most symptoms are self-limited, long-term persistent arthralgia is observed in 30-40% of infected individuals. Currently, there is no vaccine or specific treatment against CHIKV infection, so there is an urgent need for the discovery of new therapeutic options for CHIKF chronic cases. This present study aims to test the antiviral, cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities of an ethanol extract (FF72) from Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke wood, chemically characterized using mass spectrometry, which indicated the major presence of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins. The major saponin in the extract, with a deprotonated molecule ion m/z 897 [M-H]-, was tentatively assigned as a jujubogenin triglycoside, a dammarane-type triterpenoid saponin. Treatment with FF72 resulted in a significant reduction in both virus replication and the production of infective virions in BHK-21-infected cells. The viability of infected cells was assessed using an MTT, and the result indicated that FF72 treatment was able to revert the toxicity mediated by CHIKV infection. In addition, FF72 had a direct effect on CHIKV, since the infectivity was completely abolished in the presence of the extract. FF72 treatment also reduced the expression of the major pro-inflammatory mediators overexpressed during CHIKV infection, such as IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1. Overall, the present study elucidates the potential of FF72 to become a promising candidate of herbal medicine for alphaviruses infections.

Different outcomes of neonatal and adult Zika virus infection on startle reflex and prepulse inhibition in mice.

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection causes severe neurological consequences in both gestationally-exposed infants and adults. Sensorial gating deficits strongly correlate to the motor, sensorial and cognitive impairments observed in ZIKV-infected patients. However, no startle response or prepulse inhibition (PPI) assessment has been made in patients or animal models. In this study, we identified different outcomes according to the age of infection and sex in mice: neonatally infected animals presented an increase in PPI and delayed startle latency. However, adult-infected male mice presented lower startle amplitude, while a PPI impairment was observed 14 days after infection in both sexes. Our data further the understanding of the functional impacts of ZIKV on the developing and mature nervous system, which could help explain other behavioral and cognitive alterations caused by the virus. With this study, we support the startle reflex testing in ZIKV-exposed patients, especially infants, allowing for early detection of functional neuromotor damage and early intervention.