The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and drug-resistant mutants emphasizes the urgent need to develop novel antiviral agents.In the present study,we examined the therapeutic effect of the Chinese medicinal herb,Scutel...The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and drug-resistant mutants emphasizes the urgent need to develop novel antiviral agents.In the present study,we examined the therapeutic effect of the Chinese medicinal herb,Scutellaria barbata D.Don(SBD),against SARS-CoV-2 infection both in vitro and in vivo.Using a viral replicon particle(VRP)-based mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection,our study revealed that SBD extracts can reduce viral load in mouse lungs and alleviate the viral induced pneumonia.In vitro antiviral determination further validated the direct acting antiviral efficacy of SBD extracts against SARS-CoV-2 replication.Mechanistic studies demonstrated that SBD can act against SARS-CoV2 replication by targeting both 3-chymotrypsin-like and papain-like cysteine proteases,via a combination of multiple active constituents.Moreover,SBD can modulate the host inflammation response in a bi-directional manner,which also contribute to the mitigation of viral induced acute lung injury.In summary,our study provides SBD as a promising therapeutic agent to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections that merit further development.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82274204 and 82104134)the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province,China(ZR2024QH110)+1 种基金the Major Basic Program of Shandong Natural Science Foundation,China(ZR2021ZD17)the Project of Youth Innovation Team of Shandong Province(2022KJ254).
文摘The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and drug-resistant mutants emphasizes the urgent need to develop novel antiviral agents.In the present study,we examined the therapeutic effect of the Chinese medicinal herb,Scutellaria barbata D.Don(SBD),against SARS-CoV-2 infection both in vitro and in vivo.Using a viral replicon particle(VRP)-based mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection,our study revealed that SBD extracts can reduce viral load in mouse lungs and alleviate the viral induced pneumonia.In vitro antiviral determination further validated the direct acting antiviral efficacy of SBD extracts against SARS-CoV-2 replication.Mechanistic studies demonstrated that SBD can act against SARS-CoV2 replication by targeting both 3-chymotrypsin-like and papain-like cysteine proteases,via a combination of multiple active constituents.Moreover,SBD can modulate the host inflammation response in a bi-directional manner,which also contribute to the mitigation of viral induced acute lung injury.In summary,our study provides SBD as a promising therapeutic agent to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections that merit further development.
