Liu Baoling, Wang Yuling, Shao Lina, Chen Yuanhang, Xu Zhiwen, Zhu Ling
College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
Sichuan Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemic Disease and Human Health, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Mar 25;12:1551501. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1551501. eCollection 2025.
The Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic arbovirus causing disease in humans and animals, a member of the genus. Currently, approved antiviral drugs and vaccines against alphaviruses are few available. This study aimed to investigate the anti-GETV activity of the Extract of (ESG) and .
The cytotoxic effects of ESG on BHK-21 cells were quantitatively evaluated through the MTT assay. Quantitative analysis of viral replication was performed using qRT-PCR, while E2 protein expression was analyzed through western blotting. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations were conducted to examine the binding affinity between the principal bioactive constituents of ESG and the E2 structural proteins. Additionally, the therapeutic potential of ESG in alleviating viremia was evaluated in GETV-infected mouse models.
The results showed that ESG significantly attenuated the cytopathic effects induced by GETV infection in BHK-21 cells, concurrently reducing both viral replication and E2 protein expression. Notably, ESG exhibited its most potent antiviral activity during the viral attachment and entry phases, with IC50 values of 3.69 μg/mL and 3.94 μg/mL, respectively. At a concentration of 10 μg/mL, ESG achieved 95.08% inhibition efficiency against viral attachment. Furthermore, in vivo studies revealed that ESG treatment significantly reduced the peak viral load and shortened the duration of viremia in GETV-infected mice. The main components of ESG are baicalin and baicalein, and molecular docking simulations demonstrated strong binding affinities between these compounds and the active site of GETV E2 protein, with docking scores of -6.99 kcal/mol for baicalin and -5.21 kcal/mol for baicalein.
The experimental findings demonstrate that ESG exhibits significant antiviral efficacy against GETV infection both and . These results indicate that ESG represents a promising therapeutic candidate for the prevention and treatment of GETV infections. Mechanistically, the antiviral activity of ESG appears to be mediated, at least in part, through the modulation of E2 protein expression.
盖塔病毒（GETV）是一种人畜共患虫媒病毒，可导致人类和动物患病，属于该属的一员。目前，针对甲病毒的获批抗病毒药物和疫苗很少。本研究旨在研究[提取物名称]提取物（ESG）和[另一提取物名称]的抗GETV活性。
通过MTT法对ESG对BHK-21细胞的细胞毒性作用进行定量评估。使用qRT-PCR进行病毒复制的定量分析，同时通过蛋白质印迹分析E2蛋白表达。此外，进行分子对接模拟以检查ESG的主要生物活性成分与E2结构蛋白之间的结合亲和力。另外，在GETV感染的小鼠模型中评估了ESG在减轻病毒血症方面的治疗潜力。
结果表明，ESG显著减轻了GETV感染诱导的BHK-21细胞的细胞病变效应，同时降低了病毒复制和E2蛋白表达。值得注意的是，ESG在病毒附着和进入阶段表现出最强的抗病毒活性，IC50值分别为3.69μg/mL和3.94μg/mL。在浓度为10μg/mL时，ESG对病毒附着的抑制效率达到95.08%。此外，体内研究表明，ESG治疗显著降低了GETV感染小鼠的病毒载量峰值并缩短了病毒血症持续时间。ESG的主要成分是黄芩苷和黄芩素，分子对接模拟表明这些化合物与GETV E2蛋白的活性位点之间具有很强的结合亲和力，黄芩苷的对接分数为-6.99 kcal/mol，黄芩素的对接分数为-5.21 kcal/mol。
实验结果表明，ESG在体外和体内均对GETV感染表现出显著的抗病毒功效。这些结果表明，ESG是预防和治疗GETV感染的有前途的治疗候选物。从机制上讲，ESG的抗病毒活性似乎至少部分是通过调节E2蛋白表达来介导的。
