Berbamine inhibits Pseudorabies virus in vitro and in vivo.

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a significant pathogen that causes acute infectious diseases in pigs, resulting in considerable economic losses for the global pig industry. The lack of effective control measures and vaccines against the circulating variants of PRV highlights the pressing need for novel treatment strategies. In this study, a screening of a natural product library identified Berbamine as a promising compound that inhibits PRV replication, with a selectivity index of 17. Preliminary investigations demonstrated that Berbamine impedes viral proliferation by targeting the replication and release stages of the PRV life cycle. In experiments with mice artificially infected with PRV, Berbamine significantly alleviated clinical symptoms and histopathological changes in brain tissue caused by PRV infection. Furthermore, molecular docking studies indicated that Berbamine targets the UL50 protein, not only of PRV but also of HSV-1, FHV-1, and BoHV-1. Given that the UL50 protein is a promising target for antiviral drug development, Berbamine holds considerable potential for broad application in antiviral therapies.