Isoliquiritigenin inhibits virus replication and virus-mediated inflammation via NRF2 signaling

The transcription factor NRF2 is a master redox switch that regulates the cellular antioxidant response. However, recent advances have revealed new roles for NRF2, including the regulation of antiviral responses to various viruses, suggesting that pharmacological NRF2-activating agents may be a promising therapeutic drug for viral diseases. Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a chalcone isolated from liquorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix) root, is reported to be a natural NRF2 agonist and has has antiviral activities against HCV (hepatitis C virus) and IAV (influenza A virus). However, the spectrum of antiviral activity and associated mechanism of ISL against other viruses are not well defined.

This study investigated the antiviral activity and underlying mechanism of ISL against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), influenza A virus (H1N1), encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).

We evaluated the antiviral activity of ISL against VSV, H1N1, EMCV, and HSV-1 using flow cytometry and qRT-PCR analysis. RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis were performed to investigate the potential antiviral mechanism of ISL. NRF2 knockout cells were used to investigate whether NRF2 is required for the antiviral activity of ISL. The anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammatory activities of ISL were further measured by counting cell death ratio and assessing proinflammatory cytokines expression in virus-infected cells, respectively. In addition, we evaluated the antiviral effect of ISL in vivo by measuring the survival rate, body weights, histological analysis, viral load, and cytokine expression in VSV-infected mouse model.

Our data demonstrated that ISL effectively suppressed VSV, H1N1, HSV-1, and EMCV replication in vitro. The antiviral activity of ISL could be partially impaired in NRF2-deficient cells. Virus-induced cell death and proinflammatory cytokines were repressed by ISL. Finally, we showed that ISL treatment protected mice against VSV infection by reducing viral titers and suppressing the expression of inflammatory cytokines in vivo.

These findings suggest that ISL has antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects in virus infections, which are associated with its ability to activate NRF2 signaling, thus indicating that ISL has the potential to serve as an NRF2 agonist in the treatment of viral diseases.