Department of Life Science, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
J Gen Virol. 2021 Mar;102(3). doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001550. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
Chios mastic gum (CMG), a resin of the mastic tree ( var. chia), has been used to treat multiple disorders caused by gastrointestinal malfunctions and bacterial infections for more than 2500 years. However, little is known about CMG's antiviral activity. CMG is known to influence multiple cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. As virus replication is largely dependent on the host cellular metabolism, it is conceivable that CMG regulates virus infectivity. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated CMG's potential as an antiviral drug to treat influenza A virus (IAV) infection. CMG treatment dramatically reduced the cytopathogenic effect and production of RNAs, proteins and infectious particles of IAV. Interestingly, CMG interfered with the early stage of the virus life cycle after viral attachment. Importantly, the administration of CMG greatly ameliorated morbidity and mortality in IAV-infected mice. The results suggest that CMG displays a potent anti-IAV activity by blocking the early stage of viral replication. Thus, mastic gum could be exploited as a novel therapeutic agent against IAV infection.
奇亚树（ var. chia）树脂——乳香树胶（Chios mastic gum，CMG），已被用于治疗 2500 多年来因胃肠道功能紊乱和细菌感染引起的多种疾病。然而，人们对 CMG 的抗病毒活性知之甚少。CMG 已知会影响多种细胞过程，如细胞增殖、分化和细胞凋亡。由于病毒复制在很大程度上依赖于宿主细胞的新陈代谢，因此可以想象 CMG 会调节病毒的感染力。因此，在这项研究中，我们评估了 CMG 作为一种治疗甲型流感病毒（IAV）感染的抗病毒药物的潜力。CMG 处理显著降低了 IAV 的细胞病变效应和 RNA、蛋白质和感染性颗粒的产生。有趣的是，CMG 在病毒附着后干扰了病毒生命周期的早期阶段。重要的是，CMG 的给药大大改善了 IAV 感染小鼠的发病率和死亡率。结果表明，CMG 通过阻断病毒复制的早期阶段显示出强大的抗 IAV 活性。因此，乳香树胶可能被开发为一种新型的抗 IAV 感染治疗药物。
