title: Inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication in vitro by xanthohumol, a natural product present in hops.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Xanthohumol, a prenylated flavonoid from hops, has various biological activities including an antiviral effect. It was previously characterized as a compound that inhibits bovine viral diarrhea virus, a surrogate model of hepatitis C virus. In the present work, xanthohumol was examined for its ability to inhibit hepatitis C virus replication in a cell culture system carrying replicating hepatitis C virus RNA replicon. 0.2 % DMSO and 500 units/mL interferon-alpha treatments were set as a negative and positive control, respectively. The inhibitory effect by xanthohumol was determined by the luciferase activity of the infected Huh7.5 cell lysates and the hepatitis C virus RNA levels in the culture. Xanthohumol at 3.53 µM significantly decreased the luciferase activity compared to the negative control (p < 0.01). Xanthohumol at 7.05 µM further decreased the luciferase activity compared to xanthohumol at 3.53 µM (p = 0.015). Xanthohumol at 7.05 µM or 14.11 µM achieved an inhibitory effect similar to that of interferon-alpha 2b (p > 0.05). Xanthohumol at 3.53 µM significantly reduced the hepatitis C virus RNA level compared to the negative control (p = 0.001). Although the results of xanthohumol at 7.05 µM had a higher variation, xanthohumol at the 7.05 µM and 14.11 µM decreased the hepatitis C virus RNA level to that achieved by interferon-alpha (p > 0.05). In conclusion, xanthohumol displays anti-hepatitis C virus activity in a cell culture system and may be potentially used as an alternative or complementary treatment against the hepatitis C virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Sai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Yi-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Shan-Lu
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Qunying
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Cuiling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Zhengwen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D027582:Humulus / Q000737:chemistry*; D011427:Propiophenones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D005419:Flavonoids; D011427:Propiophenones; C104536:xanthohumol