A 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate binding peptide preferentially targets herpes simplex virus 2-infected cells.

Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) is the primary cause of genital herpes, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted viral infections worldwide and a major cofactor for human immunodeficiency virus infection. The lack of an effective vaccine or treatment and the emergence of drug-resistant strains highlight the need for developing new antivirals for HSV-2. Here, we demonstrate that a low-molecular-weight peptide isolated against 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate (3-OS HS) can efficiently block HSV-2 infection. Treatment with the peptide inhibited viral entry and cell-to-cell spread both in vitro and in vivo using a mouse model of genital HSV-2 infection. Quite interestingly, the peptide showed a preferential binding to HSV-2-infected cells, with more than 200% increased binding compared to uninfected cells. Our additional results show that heparan sulfate expression is upregulated by 25% upon HSV-2 infection, which is a significant new finding that could be exploited for designing new diagnostic tests and treatment strategies against HSV-2-infected cells. In addition, our results also raise the possibility that 3-OS HS modifications within HS may be upregulated even more to accommodate for a significantly higher increase in the peptide binding to the infected cells.

Herpes simplex virus infects most cell types in vitro: clues to its success.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type-1 and type-2 have evolved numerous strategies to infect a wide range of hosts and cell types. The result is a very successful prevalence of the virus in the human population infecting 40-80% of people worldwide. HSV entry into host cell is a multistep process that involves the interaction of the viral glycoproteins with various cell surface receptors. Based on the cell type, HSV enter into host cell using different modes of entry. The combination of various receptors and entry modes has resulted in a virus that is capable of infecting virtually all cell types. Identifying the common rate limiting steps of the infection may help the development of antiviral agents that are capable of preventing the virus entry into host cell. In this review we describe the major features of HSV entry that have contributed to the wide susceptibility of cells to HSV infection.

Protease, Growth Factor, and Heparanase-Mediated Syndecan-1 Shedding Leads to Enhanced HSV-1 Egress.

Heparan sulfate (HS) and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are considered important for the entry of many different viruses. Previously, we demonstrated that heparanase (HPSE), the host enzyme responsible for cleaving HS chains, is upregulated by herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection. Higher levels of HPSE accelerate HS removal from the cell surface, facilitating viral release from infected cells. Here, we study the effects of overexpressing HPSE on viral entry, cell-to-cell fusion, plaque formation, and viral egress. We provide new information that higher levels of HPSE reduce syncytial plaque formation while promoting egress and extracellular release of the virions. We also found that transiently enhanced expression of HPSE did not affect HSV-1 entry into host cells or HSV-1-induced cell-to-cell fusion, suggesting that HPSE activation is tightly regulated and facilitates extracellular release of the maturing virions. We demonstrate that an HSPG-shedding agonist, PMA; a protease, thrombin; and a growth factor, EGF as well as bacterially produced recombinant heparinases resulted in enhanced HSV-1 release from HeLa and human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells. Our findings here underscore the significance of syndecan-1 functions in the HSV-1 lifecycle, provide evidence that the shedding of syndecan-1 ectodomain is another way HPSE works to facilitate HSV-1 release, and add new evidence on the significance of various HSPG shedding agonists in HSV-1 release from infected cells.

Heparanase is a host enzyme required for herpes simplex virus-1 release from cells.

Herpesviruses exemplified by herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) attach to cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) for entry into host cells. However, during a productive infection, the HS moieties on parent cells can trap newly exiting viral progenies and inhibit their release. Here we demonstrate that a HS-degrading enzyme of the host, heparanase (HPSE), is upregulated through NF-kB and translocated to the cell surface upon HSV-1 infection for the removal of HS to facilitate viral release. We also find a significant increase in HPSE release in vivo during infection of murine corneas and that knockdown of HPSE in vivo inhibits virus shedding. Overall, we propose that HPSE acts as a molecular switch for turning a virus-permissive 'attachment mode' of host cells to a virus-deterring 'detachment mode'. Since many human viruses use HS as an attachment receptor, the HPSE-HS interplay may delineate a common mechanism for virus release.

Cerium oxide and iron oxide nanoparticles abolish the antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin against gram positive and gram negative biofilm bacteria.

Metal oxide nanoparticles have been suggested as good candidates for the development of antibacterial agents. Cerium oxide (CeO2) and iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles have been utilized in a number of biomedical applications. Here, the antibacterial activity of CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles were evaluated on a panel of gram positive and gram negative bacteria in both the planktonic and biofilm cultures. Additionally, the effect of combining CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles with the broad spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin on tested bacteria was investigated. Thus, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles that are required to inhibit bacterial planktonic growth and bacterial biofilm, were evaluated, and were compared to the MICs of the broad spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin alone or in the presence of CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Results of this study show that both CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles fail to inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm biomass for all the bacterial strains tested. Moreover, adding CeO2 or Fe2O3 nanoparticles to the broad spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin almost abolished its antibacterial activity. Results of this study suggest that CeO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles are not good candidates as antibacterial agents, and they could interfere with the activity of important antibiotics.

An important role for syndecan-1 in herpes simplex virus type-1 induced cell-to-cell fusion and virus spread.

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) is a common human pathogen that relies heavily on cell-to-cell spread for establishing a lifelong latent infection. Molecular aspects of HSV-1 entry into host cells have been well studied; however, the molecular details of the spread of the virus from cell-to-cell remain poorly understood. In the past, the role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) during HSV-1 infection has focused solely on the role of HS chains as an attachment receptor for the virus, while the core protein has been assumed to perform a passive role of only carrying the HS chains. Likewise, very little is known about the involvement of any specific HSPGs in HSV-1 lifecycle. Here we demonstrate that a HSPG, syndecan-1, plays an important role in HSV-1 induced membrane fusion and cell-to-cell spread. Interestingly, the functions of syndecan-1 in fusion and spread are independent of the presence of HS on the core protein. Using a mutant CHO-K1 cell line that lacks all glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on its surface (CHO-745) we demonstrate that the core protein of syndecan-1 possesses the ability to modulate membrane fusion and viral spread. Altogether, we identify a new role for syndecan-1 in HSV-1 pathogenesis and demonstrate HS-independent functions of its core protein in viral spread.