Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
Molecules. 2024 Jan 30;29(3):652. doi: 10.3390/molecules29030652.
Lysozyme, especially the one obtained from hen's egg white, continues to show new pharmacological properties. The fact that only a few of these properties can be translated into therapeutic applications is due to the lack of suitable clinical studies. However, this lack cannot hide the evidence that is emerging from scientific research. This review for the first time examines, from a pharmacological point of view, all the relevant studies on the antiviral properties of lysozyme, analyzing its possible mechanism of action and its ability to block viral infections and, in some cases, inhibit viral replication. Lysozyme can interact with nucleic acids and alter their function, but this effect is uncoupled from the catalytic activity that determines its antibacterial activity; it is present in intact lysozyme but is equally potent in a heat-degraded lysozyme or in a nonapeptide isolated by proteolytic digestion. An analysis of the literature shows that lysozyme can be used both as a disinfectant for raw and processed foods and as a drug to combat viral infections in animals and humans. To summarize, it can be said that lysozyme has important antiviral properties, as already suspected in the initial studies conducted over 50 years ago, and it should be explored in suitable clinical studies on humans.
溶菌酶，特别是从鸡蛋清中提取的溶菌酶，不断显示出新的药理学特性。事实上，这些特性中只有少数能够转化为治疗应用，这是由于缺乏合适的临床研究。然而，这种缺乏并不能掩盖科学研究中涌现出的证据。本综述首次从药理学角度检查了关于溶菌酶抗病毒特性的所有相关研究，分析了其可能的作用机制及其阻断病毒感染的能力，并在某些情况下抑制病毒复制。溶菌酶可以与核酸相互作用并改变其功能，但这种作用与决定其抗菌活性的催化活性无关；它存在于完整的溶菌酶中，但在热降解的溶菌酶或蛋白酶消化分离的九肽中同样有效。对文献的分析表明，溶菌酶既可以用作生的和加工食品的消毒剂，也可以用作对抗动物和人类病毒感染的药物。总之，可以说溶菌酶具有重要的抗病毒特性，正如 50 多年前进行的初步研究中已经怀疑的那样，应该在适合人类的临床研究中进行探索。
