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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Use of Viral Entry Assays and Molecular Docking Analysis for the Identification of Antiviral Candidates against Coxsackievirus A16
Published on: July 15, 2019
Study on the inhibitory effect of geniposide on coxsackievirus and its mechanism
Jianbo Xia1, Zuliang Shi1, Mengxin Shen1
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Background:
Coxsackievirus infection can cause various diseases such as myocarditis and encephalitis, posing a serious threat to human health. However, there are currently no specific therapeutic drugs or effective vaccines for Coxsackievirus infection, so exploring new anti-Coxsackievirus agents is of great significance. Geniposide, an iridoid glycoside component from traditional Chinese medicine Gardenia jasminoides, has shown multiple pharmacological activities, but its antiviral effect against Coxsackievirus and related mechanisms remain unclear.
Method:
This study verified the antiviral activity of geniposide against coxsackievirus in vitro, and combined network pharmacology with molecular docking to explore the candidate targets and pathways underlying its effects against coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3).
Results:
In vitro experiments confirmed that geniposide exhibited significant inhibitory activity against CVB3. Compared with the virus control group, geniposide treatment significantly reduced the degree of pathological changes in HEp-2 and Vero cells infected with CVB3 and effectively inhibited virus plaque formation in a concentration-dependent manner. The 50% effective concentrations (EC50) of geniposide in HEp-2 and Vero cells were 165.2 μg/mL and 142.5 μg/mL, respectively. Network pharmacology analysis identified AKT1, STAT1, MMP9, CASP3, MAPK14, and MAPK1 as core potential targets of geniposide against CVB3. Molecular docking results predicted that geniposide could form stable binding conformations with these six core targets, providing a theoretical molecular basis for its antiviral effect.
Conclusion:
This study confirmed that geniposide inhibits CVB3 replication in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. Network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted that its anti-CVB3 activity may be associated with binding to core targets including AKT1, STAT1, MMP9, CASP3, MAPK14, and MAPK1. These results provide a hypothetical framework for further mechanistic validation of geniposide against CVB3. This study offers experimental evidence supporting geniposide as a potential anti-coxsackievirus lead compound for future preclinical research, and also provides a novel direction for the prevention and treatment of coxsackievirus infection.
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