Journal Article

Cordycepin Inhibits Enterovirus A71 Replication and Protects Host Cell from Virus-Induced Cytotoxicity through Adenosine Action Pathway

Wong, Tak-Wah, Yu, Chun-Keung, Lee, Yi-Ping, Chen, Li-Ching, Huang, Bu-Miin

2024

Overview

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection typically causes mild illnesses, such as hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD), but occasionally leads to severe or fatal neurological complications in infants and young children. Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment available for EV-A71 infection. Thus, the development of an effective anti-EV-A71 drug is required urgently. Cordycepin, a major bioactive compound found in Cordyceps fungus, has been reported to possess antiviral activity. However, its specific activity against EV-A71 is unknown. In this study, the potency and role of cordycepin treatment on EV-A71 infection were investigated. Results demonstrated that cordycepin treatment significantly reduced the viral load and viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) level in EV-A71-infected Vero cells. In addition, EV-A71-mediated cytotoxicity was significantly inhibited in the presence of cordycepin in a dose-dependent manner. The protective effect can also be extended to Caco-2 intestinal cells, as evidenced by the higher median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) values in the cordycepin-treated groups. Furthermore, cordycepin inhibited EV-A71 replication by acting on the adenosine pathway at the post-infection stage. Taken together, our findings reveal that cordycepin could be a potential antiviral candidate for the treatment of EV-A71 infection.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Adenosine / Adenosine - pharmacology / adenosine pathway / Animals / Antigens, Viral / Antiviral activity / Antiviral Agents - pharmacology / Antiviral drugs / antiviral properties / Bioactive compounds / Caco-2 Cells / Candidates / Care and treatment / Cell culture / Cell death / Chemical properties / Child / Child, Preschool / Chlorocebus aethiops / Cordycepin / Cordyceps / Cytotoxicity / Dengue fever / Deoxyadenosines / dose response / Encephalitis / Enterovirus / Enterovirus A / Enterovirus A, Human - genetics / enterovirus A71 / Enterovirus diseases / Enterovirus Infections - drug therapy / Enteroviruses / fungi / Genomes / Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Humans / Infant / Infections / infectious disease / Infectious diseases / intestines / Neurological complications / Nucleoside analogs / Pharmaceutical research / protective effect / Proteins / Replication / Ribonucleic acid / RNA / RNA polymerase / Testing / Tissue culture / traditional herbal medicine / Vero Cells / Viral infections / viral load / Virus Replication / Viruses