title: Effect of glycyrrhizin, an active component of licorice roots, on HIV replication in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HIV-seropositive patients.
abstract: The effect of glycyrrhizin (GR) on HIV replication in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from HIV-infected patients was investigated. After the depletion of CD8+ T cells, PBMC from HIV+ patients (patient PBMC) and PBMC from healthy donors (healthy PBMC) were cocultured in the presence or absence of GR (100 microg/ml) for 21 days. In cultures of 13 of 42 samples of patient PBMC (13/42, 31%), GR inhibited more than 90% of HIV replication. Among 42 samples of patient PBMC, 20 were identified to be infected with a non-syncytium-inducing variant of HIV (NSI-HIV), 15 with a syncytium-inducing variant of HIV (SI-HIV), and the remaining 7 were classified as cells infected with SI-HIV and/or NSI-HIV. GR inhibited more than 90% of HIV replication in cultures of 12 patient PBMC samples infected with NSI-HIV (12/20, 60%). In patient PBMC infected with SI-HIV, GR inhibited HIV replication in only 1 patient (1/15, 7%). In cultures of patient PBMC, GR induced the production of CC chemokine ligand (CCL)4 and CCL5 in a dose-dependent manner. When the assay was performed in PBMC cultures supplemented with a mixture of monoclonal antibodies for CCL4 and CCL5, no evidence of anti-HIV activity of GR was found. These results indicate that GR has the potential to inhibit NSI-HIV replication in patient PBMC cultures by inducing the production of beta-chemokines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Tex 77555-0435, USA.
authors.forename: Hidetaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Miwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Pollard
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006035:Glycyrrhiza / Q000737:chemistry*; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006678:HIV / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000821:virology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D019742:Chemokines, CC; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid