Redox Modulating Compounds as Potential Antiviral Agents against Viruses

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 4260

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Interests: herpes simplex virus; role of HSV-1 infection in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Translational Pharnacolofy, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
Interests: Alzheimer's disease; neurodegeneration; tau proteins; apoptosis; phosphorylation

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of the Life, San Raffale University, 00166 Roma, Italy
Interests: gut microbiota; virology; epidemiology; nutraceutical polyphenols; micronutrients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An imbalance in the redox state towards oxidative stress is a well-known phenomenon that also characterizes viral infections, including those from respiratory viruses, such as Influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, and neurotropic viruses. Intracellular alteration to oxidant conditions favors viral replication and contributes to virus-induced pathogenesis. Antiviral drugs currently available are limited in number and efficacy by side effects and the development of resistance. Several natural compounds, as well as synthetic derivatives, have been shown to possess antioxidant and/or antiviral properties. In this context, the hypothesis that redox-modulating agents may represent useful complementary tools to control viral infections is of great interest.

We invite colleagues to submit research articles providing data to evaluate this hypothesis.

Review articles about the current state-of-the-art findings are welcome as well.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Role of oxidative stress in virus life-cycle
  • Characterization of potential antiviral redox-sensitive targets
  • Implications of oxidative stress in the host response to viruses
  • Antiviral and antioxidant effects of natural and synthetic compounds
  • Effects of natural and synthetic compounds on the immune response to viruses

Dr. Maria Elena Marcocci

Dr. Giovanna De Chiara

Dr. Paola Checconi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • respiratory viruses
  • neurotropic viruses
  • viral infections
  • redox state
  • antiviral agents
  • antioxidants
  • influenza
  • Sars-CoV-2
  • HSV

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 4611 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Analysis of the Antioxidant and Antiviral Activity of Embelin against Herpes Simplex Virus-1
by Tony Elias, Lee H. Lee, Miriam Rossi, Francesco Caruso and Sandra D. Adams
Microorganisms 2021, 9(2), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020434 - 19 Feb 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3775
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) causes a wide range of infections from mild to life-threatening in the human population. There are effective treatments for HSV-1 infections that are limited due HSV-1 latency and development of resistance to current therapeutics. The goal of this study [...] Read more.
Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) causes a wide range of infections from mild to life-threatening in the human population. There are effective treatments for HSV-1 infections that are limited due HSV-1 latency and development of resistance to current therapeutics. The goal of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and antiviral effects of embelin on HSV-1 in cultured Vero cells. Oxidative stress was verified by an extensive production of a reactive oxygen species (ROS) H2O2. Vero cells were infected with a recombinant strain of HSV-1 and antiviral assays, time course attachment, penetration, and post penetration assays, confocal microscopy, qPCR, and antioxidant assays were conducted. Our results lead to the conclusion that embelin is noncytotoxic at concentrations tested ranging from 20 to 70 µM. Treatment of HSV-1 virions with embelin resulted in 98.7–100% inhibition and affected the early stage of HSV-1 infection of Vero cells, by inhibiting the attachment and penetration of HSV-1 virions to host cells. Treatment of virions with concentrations of embelin ranging from 35 to 60 µM significantly reduced the production of H2O2. In conclusion, embelin reduces oxidative damage caused by HSV-1 infection and is an effective antiviral to reduce the infection of HSV-1 in cultured Vero cells. Further studies are needed to explore the possibility of embelin as a medicinal agent. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop