Anti-HSV-1 activity of Aspergillipeptide D, a cyclic pentapepetide isolated from fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO 41501

• Published in: Virology journal Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 41
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhaoyang, Jia, Jiaoyan, Wang, Lu, Li, Feng, Wang, Yiliang, Jiang, Yuzhou, Song, Xiaowei, Qin, Shurong, Zheng, Kai, Ye, Ju, Ren, Zhe, Wang, Yifei, Qi, Shuhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19-03-2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - isolation & purification; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Aspergillipeptide D; Aspergillus; Aspergillus - chemistry; Central nervous system; Chlorocebus aethiops; Culture Media; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA replication; Drug resistance; Fungi; Genetic research; Glycoprotein B; Health aspects; Herpes viruses; Herpesvirus 1, Human - drug effects; Herpesvirus 1, Human - physiology; Herpesviruses; HSV-1; Humans; Infections; Marine peptide; Mass spectrometry; Mortality; Neurons; Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors - isolation & purification; Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors - pharmacology; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic - isolation & purification; Peptides, Cyclic - pharmacology; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Proteomics; RNA; RNA synthesis; RNA, Viral - biosynthesis; Spectroscopy; Tumors; Vero Cells; Virus Inactivation - drug effects; Virus replication; Virus Replication - drug effects; United States > US; Glycoprotein B; HSV-1; Aspergillipeptide D; Marine peptide
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12985-020-01315-z

Herpes simplex virus 1, an enveloped DNA virus belonging to the Herpesviridae family, spreads to neurons and causes pathological changes in the central nervous system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potency and mechanism of antiviral activity of Aspergillipeptide D, a cyclic pentapeptide isolated from a culture broth of marine gorgonian-derived fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO 41501, At present, there are many studies on the anti-tumor, anti-clotting, anti-oxidant and immunoinflammatory effects of Aspergillipeptide D, but little research has been done on the anti-HSV-1 activity of Aspergillipeptide D.
The anti-HSV-1 activity of Aspergillipeptide D was evaluated by plaque reduction assay. The mechanism of action against HSV-1 was determined from the effective stage. Then we assayed the viral DNA replication, viral RNA synthesis and protein expression, respectively. We also identified the proteins that interact with gB by mass spectrometry, and assayed the effect of Aspergillipeptide D on the interaction between the virus gB protein and cell proteins.
Plaque reduction experiments showed that Aspergillipeptide D did not affect HSV-1 early infection events, including viral inactivation, attachment and penetration. Interestingly, Aspergillipeptide D dramatically reduced both the gene and protein levels of viral late protein gB, and suppressed its location in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. In contrast, overexpression of gB restored viral production. Finally, proteomic analysis revealed that the numbers of cellular proteins that interacted with gB protein was largely decreased by Aspergillipeptide D. These results suggested that Aspergillipeptide D inhibited gB function to affect HSV-1 intercellular spread.
Our results indicated that Aspergillipeptide D might be a potential candidate for HSV-1 therapy, especially for ACV-resistant strains.