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Use of Viral Entry Assays and Molecular Docking Analysis for the Identification of Antiviral Candidates against Coxsackievirus A16
Published on: July 15, 2019
NAE inhibitor MLN4924 effectively suppresses Coxsackievirus B3 replication
Siwei Li1, Jianwei Wei2, Yanyan Dong2
1Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, 157 Baojian Road, Harbin, 150081, China; Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China; Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Panvascular Disease, Harbin, 150086, China.
Insights
MLN4924, a neddylation inhibitor, shows potent antiviral effects against Coxsackievirus B (CVB) infection by targeting viral replication and boosting the immune response. This offers a promising therapeutic strategy for myocarditis and cardiomyopathy caused by CVB.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Myocarditis, often caused by Coxsackievirus B (CVB), is a major cause of dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death.
- Current treatment options for CVB-induced myocarditis are limited due to the lack of approved antiviral drugs.
- Viral protein neddylation, specifically of the 3Dpol RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, enhances CVB replication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the antiviral efficacy of MLN4924, a selective neddylation inhibitor, against CVB infection.
- To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting viral protein neddylation for treating CVB-related cardiovascular diseases.
Main Methods:
- In vitro and in vivo studies using CVB3 infection models.
- Treatment with MLN4924, a selective neddylation inhibitor.
- Assessment of viral replication, myocardial damage, inflammatory markers, and protein neddylation levels.
- Analysis of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) pathway modulation.
Main Results:
- MLN4924 demonstrated potent antiviral activity against CVB3 with low cytotoxicity, particularly when administered early.
- MLN4924 significantly inhibited viral replication in vitro and in the myocardium of infected mice.
- Treatment alleviated myocardial damage and reduced inflammation.
- MLN4924 suppressed 3Dpol neddylation and promoted its degradation, while upregulating NRF2 by inhibiting its ubiquitination.
Conclusions:
- MLN4924 exhibits significant antiviral effects against CVB infection, both in vitro and in vivo.
- Targeting viral protein neddylation with MLN4924 is a viable therapeutic strategy for CVB-induced myocarditis.
- The antiviral mechanism involves inhibiting viral replication and modulating the host immune response via NRF2 upregulation.
Abstract:
Myocarditis, the inflammatory disease of the myocardium, is one of the leading causes of dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death. Coxsackievirus B (CVB) is one of the common pathogens of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. In spite of the high prevalence of CVB infection, effective antiviral therapy is lacking, primarily due to that there is no approved antiviral drug available. In the previous study, we demonstrated that the neddylation of 3Dpol, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, promotes CVB replication. Therefore, we propose that targeting neddylation might be a therapeutic strategy against CVB infection. Here we studied the antiviral effect of MLN4924, the selective inhibitor of neddylation. We show that MLN4924 exerted potent antiviral effect with negligible cytotoxicity when applied at the early stage of CVB3 infection. MLN4924 treatment significantly inhibited viral replication both in vitro and in the myocardium of CVB3-infected mice. The myocardial damage and inflammatory response induced by CVB3 were significantly alleviated. We show that MLN4924 suppressed the neddylation of 3Dpol, leading to its upregulated degradation. Moreover, MLN4924 upregulated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) through inhibiting its ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, while CVB3 infection clearly enhanced NRF2 ubiquitination. Taken together, we conclude that MLN4924 exerts anti-CVB effect both in vitro and in vivo. In addition to inhibiting the neddylation of viral 3Dpol, upregulated NRF2 also contributes to the antiviral activity of MLN4924. This study demonstrated that targeting neddylation can be a potential antiviral strategy for the treatment of CVB infection.
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