Division of Molecular Medicine, National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Virol J. 2011 Apr 1;8:153. doi: 10.1186/1743-422X-8-153.
Hepatitis C is a major health problem affecting 270 million individuals in world including Pakistan. Current treatment regimen, interferon alpha and ribavirin only cure half of patients due to side effects and high cost.
In the present study Silybum marianum (Milk thistle) seeds were collected, extracted and analyzed against HCV 3a core gene by transiently transfecting the liver cells with HCV core plasmid. Our results demonstrated that Silymarin (SM) dose dependently inhibit the expression or function of HCV core gene at a non toxic concentration while the GAPDH remained constant. To identify the active ingredient, SM was fractioned by thin layer chromatography (TLC), column chromatography and HPLC. Purified fractions were tested for HCV core gene and western blotting results showed that two factions of SM (S1 and S2) inhibit HCV 3a core expression or function in liver cells
Our results suggest SM and its fractions (S1 and S2) inhibit HCV core gene of 3a genotype and combination of SM and its fractions with interferon will be a better option to treat HCV infection.
丙型肝炎是一个全球性的健康问题，影响到包括巴基斯坦在内的全球 2.7 亿人。目前的治疗方案是干扰素 α 和利巴韦林，但由于副作用和高成本，只有一半的患者能够得到治愈。
在本研究中，我们采集、提取并分析了水飞蓟素（奶蓟草）种子，通过瞬时转染 HCV 核心质粒来对抗 HCV 3a 核心基因。我们的结果表明，水飞蓟素（SM）在非毒性浓度下以剂量依赖的方式抑制 HCV 核心基因的表达或功能，而 GAPDH 则保持不变。为了鉴定活性成分，我们用水飞蓟素进行了薄层层析（TLC）、柱层析和高效液相色谱（HPLC）分离。纯化后的馏分进行 HCV 核心基因检测，Western blot 结果表明，SM 的两个馏分（S1 和 S2）抑制了肝细胞中 HCV 3a 核心的表达或功能。
我们的结果表明，SM 及其馏分（S1 和 S2）抑制了 HCV 3a 基因型的核心基因，SM 及其馏分与干扰素的联合应用将是治疗 HCV 感染的更好选择。
