Resveratrol affects Zika virus replication in vitro

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a serious public health concern. ZIKV infection has been associated with increased occurrences of microcephaly among newborns and incidences of Guillain-Barré syndrome among adults. No specific therapeutics or vaccines are currently available to treat and protect against ZIKV infection. Here, a plant-secreted phytoalexin, resveratrol (RES), was investigated for its ability to inhibit ZIKV replication in vitro. Several RES treatment regimens were used. The ZIKV titers of mock- and RES-treated infected cell cultures were determined using the focus-forming assay and the Zika mRNA copy number as determined using qRT-PCR. Our results suggested that RES treatment reduced ZIKV titers in a dose-dependent manner. A reduction of >90% of virus titer and ZIKV mRNA copy number was achieved when infected cells were treated with 80 µM of RES post-infection. Pre-incubation of the virus with 80 µM RES showed >30% reduction in ZIKV titers and ZIKV mRNA copy number, implying potential direct virucidal effects of RES against the virus. The RES treatment reduced >70% virus titer in the anti-adsorption assay, suggesting the possibility that RES also interferes with ZIKV binding. However, there was no significant decrease in ZIKV titer when a short-period of RES treatment was applied to cells before ZIKV infection (pre-infection) and after the virus bound to the cells (virus internalization inhibition), implying that RES acts through its continuous presence in the cell cultures after virus infection. Overall, our results suggested that RES exhibited direct virucidal activity against ZIKV and possessed anti-ZIKV replication properties, highlighting the need for further exploration of RES as a potential antiviral molecule against ZIKV infection.

Wolbachia and Sirtuin-4 interaction is associated with alterations in host glucose metabolism and bacterial titer

“…Resveratrol is a well-known powerful activator of sirtuins [ 101 ]. Recent work demonstrated that addition of this compound to cell culture pre- and post- exposure to ZIKV reduced the viral load from 30% to 90%, respectively, showing another promising venue of sirtuins as viral inhibiting agents [ 102 ]. The bacterial sirtuin CobB, a homolog of Escherichia coli sirtuin negatively impacted the growth of both bacteriophages T4 and λ [ 103 , 104 ].…”

Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Seed Oil: A Functional Food from the Winemaking Industry

“…Resveratrol, a non-flavonoid present in trace quantities, is a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound, known to play a key role in immunoregulation, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular, neuroprotection, and cancer treatment [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. It has also received attention due to its antimicrobial activity against bacterial, fungal, and viral species in vitro [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Identification of pulmonary comorbid diseases network based repurposing effective drugs for COVID-19

“…In the contrary, MERS-CoV is also activated by furin, a serine endoprotease that has been implicated in the processing of fusion proteins and cell entry of other RNA viruses, including HIV, avian influenza A/H5N1 virus, Ebola virus, Zika virus, Marburg virus and flaviviruses 70 . Resveratrol potently inhibit almost all the above mentioned viral replications in the host cells but not their entry 63,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78 . In this regard, we strongly recommend further animal studies are necessary before considering resveratrol for clinical trials.…”