Houttuynia cordata targets the beginning stage of herpes simplex virus infection

Pei-Yun Hung; Bing-Ching Ho; Szu-Yuan Lee; Sui-Yuan Chang; Chuan-Liang Kao; Shoei-Sheng Lee; Chun-Nan Lee

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115475

Houttuynia cordata targets the beginning stage of herpes simplex virus infection

PLoS One. 2015 Feb 2;10(2):e0115475. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115475. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Pei-Yun Hung¹, Bing-Ching Ho², Szu-Yuan Lee¹, Sui-Yuan Chang³, Chuan-Liang Kao³, Shoei-Sheng Lee⁴, Chun-Nan Lee³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan; NTU Center for Genomic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
³ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan; Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan.

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus (HSV), a common latent virus in humans, causes certain severe diseases. Extensive use of acyclovir (ACV) results in the development of drug-resistant HSV strains, hence, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to treat HSV infection. Houttuynia cordata (H. cordata), a natural herbal medicine, has been reported to exhibit anti-HSV effects which is partly NF-κB-dependent. However, the molecular mechanisms by which H. cordata inhibits HSV infection are not elucidated thoroughly. Here, we report that H. cordata water extracts (HCWEs) inhibit the infection of HSV-1, HSV-2, and acyclovir-resistant HSV-1 mainly via blocking viral binding and penetration in the beginning of infection. HCWEs also suppress HSV replication. Furthermore, HCWEs attenuate the first-wave of NF-κB activation, which is essential for viral gene expressions. Further analysis of six compounds in HCWEs revealed that quercetin and isoquercitrin inhibit NF-κB activation and additionally, quercetin also has an inhibitory effect on viral entry. These results indicate that HCWEs can inhibit HSV infection through multiple mechanisms and could be a potential lead for development of new drugs for treating HSV.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acyclovir / pharmacology
Animals
Antiviral Agents / isolation & purification
Antiviral Agents / pharmacology*
Cell Line
Drug Resistance, Viral / drug effects
Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / drug effects
Herpesvirus 1, Human / drug effects*
Herpesvirus 1, Human / genetics
Herpesvirus 1, Human / metabolism
Herpesvirus 1, Human / physiology*
Herpesvirus 2, Human / drug effects*
Herpesvirus 2, Human / genetics
Herpesvirus 2, Human / metabolism
Herpesvirus 2, Human / physiology*
Hot Temperature
Houttuynia / chemistry*
Humans
NF-kappa B / metabolism
Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
Viral Envelope Proteins / metabolism
Virion / drug effects
Virion / physiology
Virus Internalization / drug effects
Virus Replication / drug effects
Water / chemistry

Substances

Antiviral Agents
NF-kappa B
Plant Extracts
Viral Envelope Proteins
glycoprotein D, Human herpesvirus 1
Water
Acyclovir

Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Research Program for Genomic Medicine of Taiwan (CCMP97-RD-208). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.