Curcumin inhibits Zika and chikungunya virus infection by inhibiting cell binding

Abstract

Several compounds extracted from spices and herbs exhibit antiviral effects in vitro, suggesting potential pharmacological uses. Curcumin, a component of turmeric, has been used as a food additive and herbal supplement due to its potential medicinal properties. Previously, curcumin exhibited antiviral properties against several viruses, including dengue virus and hepatitis C virus, among others. Here, we describe the antiviral effect of curcumin on Zika and chikungunya viruses, two mosquito-borne outbreak viruses. Both viruses responded to treatment of cells with up to 5 μM curumin without impacting cellular viability. We observed that direct treatment of virus with curcumin reduced infectivity of virus in a dose- and time-dependent manner for these enveloped viruses, as well as vesicular stomatitis virus. In contrast, we found no change in infectivity for Coxsackievirus B3, a non-enveloped virus. Derivatives of curcumin also exhibited antiviral activity against enveloped viruses. Further examination revealed that curcumin interfered with the binding of the enveloped viruses to cells in a dose-dependent manner, though the integrity of the viral RNA was maintained. Together, these results expand the family of viruses sensitive to curcumin and provide a mechanism of action for curcumin's effect on these enveloped viruses.

Montelukast, an Anti-asthmatic Drug, Inhibits Zika Virus Infection by Disrupting Viral Integrity

“…After incubation at 37 • C for 2 h, the plaque assay was performed, and the plaques were visualized as described above. Curcumin, a reported antiviral drug (Mounce et al, 2017), was included as positive control. The percent inhibition by the montelukast was calculated, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was determined by using the software CalcuSyn (Chou and Talalay, 1984).…”

“…Erythromycin estolate was also found to effectively inhibit ZIKV infection by disrupting the integrity of the viral membrane . ZINC33683341 and curcumin also inhibit infection of ZIKV by disturbing the interaction between virions and cells (Delvecchio et al, 2016;Fernando et al, 2016;Li et al, 2017b;Mounce et al, 2017). Nanchangmycin, one of the antibiotics against gram-positive bacteria, inhibited ZIKV infection through blocking clathrinmediated endocytosis (Rausch et al, 2017).…”

High Amplification of the Antiviral Activity of Curcumin through Transformation into Carbon Quantum Dots

“…We further carefully investigated the inhibition mechanism of the best antiviral agent, Cur‐CQDs‐180, against EV71, although elucidating the exact molecular interactions of the specific functional groups of CQDs and EV71 virions is difficult. Previous studies have demonstrated that antiviral curcumin could interact directly with many proteins, such as DNA polymerase, cell survival proteins, focal adhesion kinase, proteasome, thioredoxin reductase, protein kinase, lipoxygenase, carrier proteins, and tubulin . Therefore, in addition to blocking the viral attachment, the pleiotropic activities of curcumin against viral infection have been demonstrated to emanate from its multiple functions pertaining to a wide range of molecular targets, such as transcription regulation, the activation of intracellular signaling cascades, and the promotion of antioxidative activity.…”

“…In addition, it has been reported that curcumin acts against coxsackievirus B3 by reducing viral RNA expression and protein synthesis through dysregulation of the ubiquitin‐proteasome system (UPS) . A recent study revealed that curcumin inhibits arthropod‐borne viral infection with Zika and chikungunya viruses by interrupting the binding of viruses on the cell surface . Another study indicated that a high dosage of curcumin exhibited antiapoptotic ability at the early stage of viral infection of EV71 .…”

Stereochemistry and Antioxidant Activity of 1,3‐Diol Derivatives of Diacetylcurcumin‐4H: A Joint NMR, X‐Ray, and Biological Approach

“…Curcumin is the principal compound derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa . Curcumin and curcuminoids have gained outstanding interest due to their therapeutic properties in neuroprotection, cancer prevention, arthritis and inflammation among many other purported properties . Structurally, curcumin and curcuminoids are heptanoids characterized by a β‐diketone chemical functionality .…”