Inhibition of three alphaherpesviruses (herpes simplex 1 and 2 and pseudorabies virus) by heparin, heparan and other sulfated polyelectrolytes.

The first step of the herpes virus infection is the attachment to heparan sulfate molecules on the cellular membrane. In order to improve the characterization of this phenomenon, we compared the inhibitory effect of six sulfated polyelectrolytes (PE): heparin, heparan, low molecular weight heparin, chondroitin, dextran and protamine on plaque formation by pseudorabies virus (PRV) were compared. The PE with the highest antiherpetic effect was heparin, followed by dextran sulfate. Heparan sulfate, which has been proposed as the initial receptor of herpes virus on the cell surface showed an effect 100-fold lower than heparin. Comparative inhibition curves of heparin and heparan sulfate against three herpes viruses: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), HSV 2 and PRV showed similar kinetics of inhibition of plaque formation, suggesting these viruses could share similar cell adsorption mechanisms.