Antiviral bioactivity of Resveratrol against Zika virus infection in human Retinal Pigment Epithelial cells

RUSSO, CA; TORTI, MF; MARQUEZ, AB; SEPÚLVEDA, CS; ALAIMO, A; GARCÍA, CC

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REPORTS

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2021

0301-4851

Background: Resveratrol (RES) is a polyphenol with increasing interest for its inhibitory effects on awide variety of viruses. Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus which causes a broad spectrum ofophthalmological manifestations in humans. Currently there is no certified therapy or vaccine to treatit, thus it has become a major global health threat. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is highlypermissive and susceptible to ZIKV. Objective: this work explored the protective effects of RES onZIKV-infected human RPE cells.Methods and Results: RES treatment resulted in a significant reduction of infectious viral titer ininfected male ARPE-19 and female hTERT-RPE1 cells. This protection was positively influenced bythe action of RES on mitochondrial dynamics. Also, docking studies showed that RES has a highaffinity for two enzymes of the rate-limiting steps of pyrimidine and purine biosynthesis and viralpolymerase.Conclusions: Evidence suggest that RES might be a potential antiviral agent to treat ZIKV-inducedocular abnormalities.