Laboratory of Molecular Immunovirology, General Biology Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Chemistry Department, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Microbes Infect. 2020 Oct;22(9):489-499. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2020.04.007. Epub 2020 Apr 27.
Zika Virus (ZIKV), an arbovirus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family, has become a global concern since its outbreak in the Americas in 2015. With symptoms similar to other Flavivirus as Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses, infections by ZIKV have also been related to several neurological complications such as microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Considering the high prevalence of ZIKV infection in certain areas, the risks that the virus poses to fetal brain development, and the fact that there is no vaccine or specific prophylaxis available, an effective treatment capable of preventing the infection is of potential interest. Therefore, in the present investigation, the antiviral activity on ZIKV of a group of xanthenodiones and intermediate ketones involved in their synthesis was evaluated for the first time. It was found that the compound 2-(2,6-dichlorobenzylidene)cyclohexane-1,3-dione 27 was able to completely inhibit the viral infection of Vero cells as well as to significantly reduce viral load in the brains of newborn Swiss mice. These effects are related to a direct interaction of the compound with the viral particle, blocking the viral adsorption.
寨卡病毒（ZIKV）是一种黄病毒科的虫媒病毒，自 2015 年在美洲爆发以来，已成为全球关注的焦点。寨卡病毒感染的症状与登革热和黄热病等其他黄病毒相似，也与新生儿小头症和格林-巴利综合征等几种神经系统并发症有关。鉴于寨卡病毒在某些地区的高感染率、该病毒对胎儿大脑发育的潜在风险，以及目前尚无疫苗或特定预防措施可用的情况，一种能够预防感染的有效治疗方法具有潜在的应用价值。因此，在本研究中，首次评估了一组涉及合成的呫吨酮和中间酮类化合物对寨卡病毒的抗病毒活性。结果发现，化合物 2-(2,6-二氯亚苄基)环己烷-1,3-二酮 27 能够完全抑制 Vero 细胞的病毒感染，并显著降低新生瑞士小鼠大脑中的病毒载量。这些作用与化合物与病毒颗粒的直接相互作用有关，从而阻断了病毒的吸附。
