Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a neurotropic flavivirus, annually causes over 30,000 Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases in East and Southeast Asia. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) modulate lysine acetylation of histones and non-histone proteins, regulating many processes including inflammation and antiviral immune response. This study investigated antiviral activity of pan- and selective-HDAC inhibitors as host-targeting agents against JEV. Among HDAC inhibitors, selective HDAC6 inhibitors (tubastatin-A (TBSA) and tubacin) concentration-dependently inhibited JEV-induced cytopathic effect and apoptosis, as well as reduced virus yield in human cerebellar medulloblastoma cells. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of virus yield was 0.26 μM for tubacin and 1.75 μM for TBSA, respectively. Tubacin (IC50 of 1.52 μM), but not TBSA, meaningfully blocked the production of intracellular infectious virus particles. In time-of-addition assays, the greatest potency of antiviral activity was observed in the mode of pre-treatment with tubacin (IC50 of 1.89 μM) compared to simultaneous (IC50 of 4.88 μM) and post-treatment (IC50 of 2.05 μM) modes. Interestingly, tubacin induced the hyperacetylation of a HDAC6 substrate Hsp90 and reduced the interaction of Hsp90 with JEV NS5 protein. Novobiocin, an Hsp90 inhibitor, diminished the NS5 protein amount and virus replication in JEV-infected cells. Meantime, tubacin suppressed the NS5 expression and antisense RNA genome synthesis in infected cells. Tubacin-induced Hsp90 hyperacetylation was suggested to influence the NS5 activity in JEV replication. Therefore, tubacin had a high potential of a host-targeting agent against JEV, exhibiting preventive and therapeutic activities against JEV infection.

Novel quinazolinone compounds have been studied in the field of drug discovery for a long time. Among their broad range of pharmacological effects, certain compounds effectively inhibit cancer cell proliferation. MJ‑33 is a quinazolinone derivative with proposed anticancer activities that was synthesized in our laboratory. The present study aimed to evaluate the anticancer activity of MJ‑33 in fluorouracil (5FU)‑resistant colorectal cancer cells (HT‑29/5FUR) and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The cell viability assay results indicated that HT‑29/5FUR cell viability was inhibited by MJ‑33 treatment in a concentration‑dependent manner compared with the control group. The cellular morphological alterations observed following MJ‑33 treatment indicated the occurrence of apoptosis and autophagy, as well as inhibition of cell proliferation in a time‑dependent manner compared with the control group. The acridine orange, LysoTracker Red and LC3‑green fluorescent protein staining results indicated that MJ‑33 treatment significantly induced autophagy compared with the control group. The DAPI/TUNEL dual staining results demonstrated increased nuclear fragmentation and condensation following MJ‑33 treatment compared with the control group. The Annexin V apoptosis assay and image cytometry analysis results demonstrated a significant increase in apoptotic cells following MJ‑33 treatment compared with the control group. The western blotting results demonstrated markedly decreased Bcl‑2, phosphorylated (p)‑BAD, pro‑caspase‑9 and pro‑caspase‑3 expression levels, and notably increased cytochrome c and apoptotic peptidase activating factor 1 expression levels following MJ‑33 treatment compared with the control group. Moreover, the expression levels of autophagy‑related proteins, including autophagy related (ATG)‑5, ATG‑7, ATG‑12, ATG‑16, p62 and LC3‑II, were increased following MJ‑33 treatment compared with the control group. Furthermore, MJ‑33‑treated HT‑29/5FUR cells displayed decreased expression levels of p‑AKT and p‑mTOR compared with control cells. The results suggested that MJ‑33‑induced apoptosis was mediated by AKT signaling, and subsequently modulated via the mitochondria‑dependent signaling pathway. Therefore, the results suggested that suppression of AKT/mTOR activity triggered autophagy in the HT‑29/5FUR cell line. In summary, the results indicated that MJ‑33 inhibited HT‑29/5FUR cell viability, and induced apoptosis and autophagy via the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. The present study may provide novel insight into the anticancer effects and mechanisms underlying MJ‑33 in 5FU‑resistant colorectal cancer cells.

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) in the Picornaviridae family causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease, aseptic meningitis, severe central nervous system disease, even death. EV-A71 2A protease cleaves Type I interferon (IFN)-α/β receptor 1 (IFNAR1) to block IFN-induced Jak/STAT signaling. This study investigated anti-EV-A7l activity and synergistic mechanism(s) of a novel furoquinoline alkaloid compound CW-33 alone and in combination with IFN-β Anti-EV-A71 activities of CW-33 alone and in combination with IFN-β were evaluated by inhibitory assays of virus-induced apoptosis, plaque formation, and virus yield. CW-33 showed antiviral activities with an IC₅₀ of near 200 µM in EV-A71 plaque reduction and virus yield inhibition assays. While, anti-EV-A71 activities of CW-33 combined with 100 U/mL IFN-β exhibited a synergistic potency with an IC₅₀ of approximate 1 µM in plaque reduction and virus yield inhibition assays. Molecular docking revealed CW-33 binding to EV-A71 2A protease active sites, correlating with an inhibitory effect of CW33 on in vitro enzymatic activity of recombinant 2A protease IC₅₀ = 53.1 µM). Western blotting demonstrated CW-33 specifically inhibiting 2A protease-mediated cleavage of IFNAR1. CW-33 also recovered Type I IFN-induced Tyk2 and STAT1 phosphorylation as well as 2',5'-OAS upregulation in EV-A71 infected cells. The results demonstrated CW-33 inhibiting viral 2A protease activity to reduce Type I IFN antagonism of EV-A71. Therefore, CW-33 combined with a low-dose of Type I IFN could be applied in developing alternative approaches to treat EV-A71 infection.

Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome that contains a big open reading frame (ORF) flanked by 5′- and 3′- untranslated regions (UTRs). Nearly 30,000 JE cases with 10,000 deaths are still annually reported in East Asia. Although the JEV genotype III vaccine has been licensed, it elicits a lower protection against other genotypes. Moreover, no effective treatment for a JE case is developed. This study constructed a pBR322-based and cytomegaloviruses (CMV) promoter-driven JEV replicon for the production of JEV single-round infectious particles (SRIPs) in a packaging cell line expressing viral structural proteins. Genetic instability of JEV genome cDNA in the pBR322 plasmid was associated with the prokaryotic promoter at 5′ end of the JEV genome that triggers the expression of the structural proteins in E. coli. JEV structural proteins were toxic E. coli, thus the encoding region for structural proteins was replaced by a reporter gene (enhanced green fluorescent protein, EGFP) that was in-frame fused with the first eight amino acids of the C protein at N-terminus and the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) 2A peptide at C-terminus in a pBR322-based JEV-EGFP replicon. JEV-EGFP SRIPs generated from JEV-EGFP replicon-transfected packaging cells displayed the infectivity with cytopathic effect induction, self-replication of viral genomes, and the expression of EGFP and viral proteins. Moreover, the combination of JEV-EGFP SRIP plus flow cytometry was used to determine the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of antiviral agents according to fluorescent intensity and positivity of SRIP-infected packaging cells post treatment. MJ-47, a quinazolinone derivative, significantly inhibited JEV-induced cytopathic effect, reducing the replication and expression of JEV-EGFP replicon in vitro. The IC50 value of 6.28 µM for MJ-47 against JEV was determined by the assay of JEV-EGFP SRIP infection in packaging cells plus flow cytometry that was more sensitive, effective, and efficient compared to the traditional plaque assay. Therefore, the system of JEV-EGFP SRIPs plus flow cytometry was a rapid and reliable platform for screening antiviral agents and evaluating antiviral potency.

Dengue virus (DENV) is one of the most geographically distributed mosquito-borne flaviviruses, like Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), and Zika virus (ZIKV). In this study, a library of the known and novel Glycyrrhizic acid (GL) derivatives bearing amino acid residues or their methyl/ethyl esters in the carbohydrate part were synthesized and studied as DENV inhibitors in vitro using the cytopathic effect (CPE), viral infectivity and virus yield assays with DENV1 and DENV-2 in Vero E6 and A549 cells. Among the GL conjugates tested, compound hits GL-D-ValOMe 3, GL-TyrOMe 6, GL-PheOEt 11, and GL-LysOMe 21 were discovered to have better antiviral activity than GL, with IC50 values ranging from <0.1 to 5.98 μM on the in vitro infectivity of DENV1 and DENV2 in Vero E6 and A549 cells. Compound hits 3, 6, 11, and 21 had a concentration-dependent inhibition on the virus yield in Vero E6, in which GL-D-ValOMe 3 and GL-PheOEt 11 were the most active inhibitors of DENV2 yield. Meanwhile, the time-of-addition assay indicated that conjugates GL-D-ValOMe 3 and GL-PheOEt 11 exhibited a substantial decrease in the DENV2 attachment stage. Subsequently, chimeric single-round infectious particles (SRIPs) of DENV2 C-prM-E protein/JEV replicon and DENV2 prM-E/ZIKV replicon were utilized for the DENV envelope I protein-mediated attachment assay. GL conjugates 3 and 11 significantly reduced the attachment of chimeric DENV2 C-prM-E/JEV and DENV2 prM-E/ZIKV SRIPs onto Vero E6 cells in a concentration-dependent manner but did not impede the attachment of wild-type JEV CprME/JEV and ZIKV prM-E/ZIKV SRIPs, indicating the inhibition of Compounds 3 and 11 on DENV2 E-mediated attachment. Molecular docking data revealed that Compounds 3 and 11 have hydrophobic interactions within a hydrophobic pocket among the interfaces of Domains I, II, and the stem region of the DENV2 envelope (E) protein. These results displayed that Compounds 3 and 11 were the lead compounds targeting the DENV E protein. Altogether, our findings provide new insights into the structure–activity relationship of GL derivatives conjugated with amino acid residues and can be the new fundamental basis for the search and development of novel flavivirus inhibitors based on natural compounds.