Oropouche virus (OROV) is the aetiological agent of Oropouche fever, the symptoms of which are common to most arboviruses, such as fever, headache, malaise, nausea and vomiting. More than half a ...million people have been infected with OROV since its isolation in 1955. Although Oropouche fever is classified as a neglected and emerging disease, to date, there are no antiviral drugs or vaccines available against the infection and little is known about its pathogenicity. Therefore, it is essential to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis. Since oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the progression of various viral diseases, in this study, redox homeostasis in the target organs of OROV infection was evaluated using an animal model. Infected BALB/c mice exhibited reduced weight gain, splenomegaly, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, anaemia, development of anti-OROV neutralizing antibodies, increased liver transaminases, and serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). The OROV genome and infectious particles were detected in the liver and spleen of infected animals, with liver inflammation and an increase in the number and total area of lymphoid nodules in the spleen. In relation to redox homeostasis in the liver and spleen, infection led to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, increased oxidative stress biomarkers malondialdehyde (MDA) and carbonyl protein, and decreased activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Taken together, these results help elucidate some important aspects of OROV infection that may contribute to the pathogenesis of Oropouche.
•Zika virus induces increase in ROS and biomarkers of oxidative stress, and decrease in antioxidant enzymes.•Zika virus infection triggers oxidative stress cellular response.•Oxidative stress may be ...an important factor in the Zika virus pathogenesis.
The first outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in the Americas, especially in Brazil, was reported in 2015. Fever, headache, rash, and conjunctivitis are the common symptoms of ZIKV infection. Unexpected clinical outcomes, such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, have also been reported. The recent spread of ZIKV and its association with severe illness has created an urgent need to understand its pathogenesis and find potential therapeutic targets. Studies show that some viruses, including Flavivirus, trigger oxidative stress, which affects cellular metabolism, viral cycle, and pathogenesis. However, the role of oxidative stress in ZIKV infection needs to be investigated. Here, we analyzed ZIKV infection-triggered oxidative stress and modified antioxidant enzyme activities. U87-MG and HepG2 cells were infected to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and carbonyl protein levels, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and the activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2). ZIKV infection induced a significant increase in ROS, lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonylation products and a significant decrease in SOD and CAT activities accompanied by inhibition of Nrf2 activation in both cell lines. Further, MDA and carbonyl protein levels and SOD and CAT activities were evaluated in the brain and liver of ZIKV-infected C57BL/6 mice, and oxidative stress associated with antioxidant depletion was also found to occur in vivo. Together, our findings indicate the potential use of antioxidants as a novel therapeutic approach to Zika disease, and future studies in this direction are warranted.
Infection caused by Mayaro virus (MAYV) is responsible for causing acute nonspecific fever, in which the majority of patients develop incapacitating and persistent arthritis/arthralgia. Mayaro fever ...is a neglected and underreported disease without treatment or vaccine, which has gained attention in recent years after the competence of Aedes aegypti to transmit MAYV was observed in the laboratory, coupled with the fact that cases are being increasingly reported outside of endemic forest areas, calling attention to the potential of an urban cycle arising in the near future. Thus, to mitigate the lack of information about the pathological aspects of MAYV, we previously described the involvement of oxidative stress in MAYV infection in cultured cells and in a non-lethal mouse model. Additionally, we showed that silymarin, a natural compound, attenuated MAYV-induced oxidative stress and inhibited MAYV replication in cells. The antioxidant and anti-MAYV effects prompted us to determine whether silymarin could also reduce oxidative stress and MAYV replication after infection in an immunocompetent animal model. We show that infected mice exhibited reduced weight gain, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, increased liver transaminases, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines and liver inflammation, increased oxidative damage biomarkers, and reduced antioxidant enzyme activity. However, in animals infected and treated with silymarin, all these parameters were reversed or significantly improved, and the detection of viral load in the liver, spleen, brain, thigh muscle, and footpad was significantly reduced. This work reinforces the potent hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects of silymarin against MAYV infection, demonstrating its potential against Mayaro fever disease.
•Silymarin improves MAYV infection in BALB/c mice.•Silymarin protects mice from liver damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and virus replication after MAYV infection.•Promising potential of silymarin in the therapeutic treatment of Mayaro fever.
Yellow fever (YF) presents a wide spectrum of severity, with clinical manifestations in humans ranging from febrile and self-limited to fatal cases. Although YF is an old disease for which an ...effective and safe vaccine exists, little is known about the viral- and host-specific mechanisms that contribute to liver pathology. Several studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress triggered by viral infections contributes to pathogenesis. We evaluated whether yellow fever virus (YFV), when infecting human hepatocytes cells, could trigger an imbalance in redox homeostasis, culminating in oxidative stress. YFV infection resulted in a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels from 2 to 4 days post infection (dpi). When measuring oxidative parameters at 4 dpi, YFV infection caused oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, evidenced by an increase in lipid peroxidation/8-isoprostane, carbonyl protein, and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), in addition to a reduction in the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), indicating a pro-oxidant environment. However, no changes were observed in the enzymatic activity of the enzyme catalase (CAT) or in the gene expression of SOD isoforms (1/2/3), CAT, or GPx. Therefore, our results show that YFV infection generates an imbalance in redox homeostasis, with the overproduction of ROS and depletion of antioxidant enzymes, which induces oxidative damage to cellular constituents. Moreover, as it has been demonstrated that oxidative stress is a conspicuous event in YFV infection, therapeutic strategies based on antioxidant biopharmaceuticals may be new targets for the treatment of YF.
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•Yellow fever virus induces increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS).•Yellow fever virus triggers oxidative stress cellular response.•Yellow fever virus reduces the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx).•Oxidative stress may be an important factor in the hepatic pathogenesis of Yellow fever.
This study describes the molecular profile and the potential antiviral activity of extracts from Phyllanthus brasiliensis, a plant widely found in the Brazilian Amazon. The research aims to shed ...light on the potential use of this species as a natural antiviral agent.
The extracts were analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system, a potent analytical technique to discover drug candidates. In the meantime, in vitro antiviral assays were performed against Mayaro, Oropouche, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses. In addition, the antiviral activity of annotated compounds was predicted by in silico methods.
Overall, 44 compounds were annotated in this study. The results revealed that P. brasiliensis has a high content of fatty acids, flavones, flavan-3-ols, and lignans. Furthermore, in vitro assays revealed potent antiviral activity against different arboviruses, especially lignan-rich extracts against Zika virus (ZIKV), as follows: methanolic extract from bark (MEB) effective concentration for 50% of the cells (EC
) = 0.80 μg/mL, selectivity index (SI) = 377.59, methanolic extract from the leaf (MEL) (EC
= 0.84 μg/mL, SI = 297.62), and hydroalcoholic extract from the leaf (HEL) (EC
= 1.36 μg/mL, SI = 735.29). These results were supported by interesting in silico prediction, where tuberculatin (a lignan) showed a high antiviral activity score.
Phyllanthus brasiliensis extracts contain metabolites that could be a new kick-off point for the discovery of candidates for antiviral drug development, with lignans becoming a promising trend for further virology research.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus that in recent years has been associated with cases of severe neurological disorders, such as microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in ...adults. As there is no vaccine or treatment, the search for new therapeutic targets is of great relevance. In this sense, plants are extremely rich sources for the discovery of new bioactive compounds and the species Phyllanthus brasiliensis (native to the Amazon region) remains unexplored.
To investigate the potential antiviral activity of compounds isolated from P. brasiliensis leaves against ZIKV infection.
In vitro antiviral assays were performed with justicidin B (a lignan) and four glycosylated lignans (tuberculatin, phyllanthostatin A, 5-O-β-d-glucopyranosyljusticidin B, and cleistanthin B) against ZIKV in Vero cells. MTT colorimetric assay was used to assess cell viability and plaque forming unit assay to quantify viral load. In addition, for justicidin B, tests were performed to investigate the mechanism of action (virucidal, adsorption, internalization, post-infection).
The isolated compounds showed potent anti-ZIKV activities and high selectivity indexes. Moreover, justicidin B, tuberculatin, and phyllanthostatin A completely reduced the viral load in at least one of the concentrations evaluated. Among them, justicidin B stood out as the main active, and further investigation revealed that justicidin B exerts its antiviral effect during post-infection stages, resulting in a remarkable 99.9 % reduction in viral load when treatment was initiated 24 h after infection.
Our findings suggest that justicidin B inhibits endosomal internalization and acidification, effectively interrupting the viral multiplication cycle. Therefore, the findings shed light on the promising potential of isolated compounds isolated from P. brasiliensis, especially justicidin B, which could contribute to the drug development and treatments for Zika virus infections.
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