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Updated: Jul 30, 2025

High Throughput In Vitro Assessment of Latency Reversing Agents on HIV Transcription and Splicing
Published on: January 22, 2019
Wogonin inhibits latent HIV-1 reactivation by downregulating histone crotonylation
Haitao Zhang1, Jinfeng Cai2, Chunna Li3
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China; Ward 1 of infection Department, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated with the School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Background:
Wogonin, a flavone isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, is a commonly used phytochemical with anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. However, the antiviral activity of wogonin against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has not been reported.
Purpose:
The current study aimed to explore whether wogonin can suppress latent HIV-1 reactivation and the mechanism of wogonin in inhibiting proviral HIV-1 transcription.
Methods:
We assessed the effects of wogonin on HIV-1 reactivation using flow cytometry, cytotoxicity assay, quantitative PCR (qPCR), viral quality assurance (VQA), and western blot analysis.
Results:
Wogonin, a flavone isolated from S. baicalensis, significantly inhibited the reactivation of latent HIV-1 in cellular models and in primary CD4+ T cells from antiretroviral therapy (ART)-suppressed individuals ex vivo. Wogonin exhibited low cytotoxicity and long-lasting inhibition of HIV-1 transcription. Triptolide is a latency-promoting agent (LPA) that inhibits HIV-1 transcription and replication; wogonin had a stronger ability to inhibit HIV-1 latent reactivation than triptolide. Mechanistically, wogonin inhibited the reactivation of latent HIV-1 by inhibiting the expression of p300, a histone acetyltransferase, and decreasing the crotonylation of histone H3/H4 in the HIV-1 promoter region.
Conclusion:
Our study found that wogonin is a novel LPA that can inhibit HIV-1 transcription by HIV-1 epigenetic silencing, which could bear promising significance for future applications of HIV-1 functional cure.
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