Antiviral Ability of Kalanchoe gracilis Leaf Extract against Enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus A16.

Pandemic infection or reemergence of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) occurs in tropical and subtropical regions, being associated with hand-foot-and-mouth disease, herpangina, aseptic meningitis, brain stem encephalitis, pulmonary edema, and paralysis. However, effective therapeutic drugs against EV71 and CVA16 are rare. Kalanchoe gracilis (L.) DC is used for the treatment of injuries, pain, and inflammation. This study investigated antiviral effects of K. gracilis leaf extract on EV71 and CVA16 replications. HPLC analysis with a C-18 reverse phase column showed fingerprint profiles of K. gracilis leaf extract had 15 chromatographic peaks. UV/vis absorption spectra revealed peaks 5, 12, and 15 as ferulic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol, respectively. K. gracilis leaf extract showed little cytotoxicity, but exhibited concentration-dependent antiviral activities including cytopathic effect, plaque, and virus yield reductions. K. gracilis leaf extract was shown to be more potent in antiviral activity than ferulic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol, significantly inhibiting in vitro replication of EV71 (IC(50) = 35.88 µg/mL) and CVA16 (IC(50) = 42.91 µg/mL). Moreover, K. gracilis leaf extract is a safe antienteroviral agent with the inactivation of viral 2A protease and reduction of IL-6 and RANTES expressions.

Single-Round Infectious Particle Antiviral Screening Assays for the Japanese Encephalitis Virus.

Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome that contains a big open reading frame (ORF) flanked by 5'- and 3'- untranslated regions (UTRs). Nearly 30,000 JE cases with 10,000 deaths are still annually reported in East Asia. Although the JEV genotype III vaccine has been licensed, it elicits a lower protection against other genotypes. Moreover, no effective treatment for a JE case is developed. This study constructed a pBR322-based and cytomegaloviruses (CMV) promoter-driven JEV replicon for the production of JEV single-round infectious particles (SRIPs) in a packaging cell line expressing viral structural proteins. Genetic instability of JEV genome cDNA in the pBR322 plasmid was associated with the prokaryotic promoter at 5' end of the JEV genome that triggers the expression of the structural proteins in E. coli. JEV structural proteins were toxic E. coli, thus the encoding region for structural proteins was replaced by a reporter gene (enhanced green fluorescent protein, EGFP) that was in-frame fused with the first eight amino acids of the C protein at N-terminus and the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) 2A peptide at C-terminus in a pBR322-based JEV-EGFP replicon. JEV-EGFP SRIPs generated from JEV-EGFP replicon-transfected packaging cells displayed the infectivity with cytopathic effect induction, self-replication of viral genomes, and the expression of EGFP and viral proteins. Moreover, the combination of JEV-EGFP SRIP plus flow cytometry was used to determine the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of antiviral agents according to fluorescent intensity and positivity of SRIP-infected packaging cells post treatment. MJ-47, a quinazolinone derivative, significantly inhibited JEV-induced cytopathic effect, reducing the replication and expression of JEV-EGFP replicon in vitro. The IC50 value of 6.28 µM for MJ-47 against JEV was determined by the assay of JEV-EGFP SRIP infection in packaging cells plus flow cytometry that was more sensitive, effective, and efficient compared to the traditional plaque assay. Therefore, the system of JEV-EGFP SRIPs plus flow cytometry was a rapid and reliable platform for screening antiviral agents and evaluating antiviral potency.

Antiviral Potential of a Novel Compound CW-33 against Enterovirus A71 via Inhibition of Viral 2A Protease.

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) in the Picornaviridae family causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease, aseptic meningitis, severe central nervous system disease, even death. EV-A71 2A protease cleaves Type I interferon (IFN)-α/ß receptor 1 (IFNAR1) to block IFN-induced Jak/STAT signaling. This study investigated anti-EV-A7l activity and synergistic mechanism(s) of a novel furoquinoline alkaloid compound CW-33 alone and in combination with IFN-ß Anti-EV-A71 activities of CW-33 alone and in combination with IFN-ß were evaluated by inhibitory assays of virus-induced apoptosis, plaque formation, and virus yield. CW-33 showed antiviral activities with an IC50 of near 200 µM in EV-A71 plaque reduction and virus yield inhibition assays. While, anti-EV-A71 activities of CW-33 combined with 100 U/mL IFN-ß exhibited a synergistic potency with an IC50 of approximate 1 µM in plaque reduction and virus yield inhibition assays. Molecular docking revealed CW-33 binding to EV-A71 2A protease active sites, correlating with an inhibitory effect of CW33 on in vitro enzymatic activity of recombinant 2A protease IC50 = 53.1 µM). Western blotting demonstrated CW-33 specifically inhibiting 2A protease-mediated cleavage of IFNAR1. CW-33 also recovered Type I IFN-induced Tyk2 and STAT1 phosphorylation as well as 2\',5\'-OAS upregulation in EV-A71 infected cells. The results demonstrated CW-33 inhibiting viral 2A protease activity to reduce Type I IFN antagonism of EV-A71. Therefore, CW-33 combined with a low-dose of Type I IFN could be applied in developing alternative approaches to treat EV-A71 infection.

Eupafolin and Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Kalanchoe gracilis Stem Extract Show Potent Antiviral Activities against Enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus A16.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CoxA16) are main pathogens of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, occasionally causing aseptic meningitis and encephalitis in tropical and subtropical regions. Kalanchoe gracilis, Da-Huan-Hun, is a Chinese folk medicine for treating pain and inflammation, exhibiting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Our prior report (2012) cited K. gracilis leaf extract as moderately active against EV71 and CoxA16. This study further rates antienteroviral potential of K. gracilis stem (KGS) extract to identify potent antiviral fractions and components. The extract moderately inhibits viral cytopathicity and virus yield, as well as in vitro replication of EV71 (IC50 = 75.18 µ g/mL) and CoxA16 (IC50 = 81.41 µ g/mL). Ethyl acetate (EA) fraction of KGS extract showed greater antiviral activity than that of n-butanol or aqueous fraction: IC50 values of 4.21 µ g/mL against EV71 and 9.08 µ g/mL against CoxA16. HPLC analysis, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and plaque reduction assay indicate that eupafolin is a vital component of EA fraction showing potent activity against EV71 (IC50 = 1.39 µ M) and CoxA16 (IC50 = 5.24 µ M). Eupafolin specifically lessened virus-induced upregulation of IL-6 and RANTES by inhibiting virus-induced ERK1/2, AP-1, and STAT3 signals. Anti-enteroviral potency of KGS EA fraction and eupafolin shows the clinical potential against EV71 and CoxA16 infection.