Mechanism of inhibition of herpes simplex virus replication by delta 7-prostaglandin A1 and delta 12-prostaglandin J2.

We studied the effect of prostaglandins (PGs) A1, delta 7-A1, A2, D2, E1, E2, F2 alpha, J2 and delta 12-J2 on the replication of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Of nine PGs we tested, delta 7-PGA1 was found to have the most potent inhibitory effect; 50% inhibitory dose (ID50) was 0.35 microgram/ml in the plaque reduction assays and HSV-2 induced protein synthesis was strongly suppressed at 0.5 microgram/ml whereas at this dose, the protein synthesis of uninfected cells was not inhibited. Dot blot hybridization analysis revealed that delta 7-PGA1 and delta 12-PGJ2 inhibited the primary transcription of HSV-2. Thus we suggest that those PGs are primarily active at the level of mRNA synthesis.