title: Antiviral activity of cuprous oxide nanoparticles against Hepatitis C Virus in vitro.
abstract: Small molecular inhibitors in combination with or without interferon have improved sustained antiviral responses against Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. Nonetheless, resistance to these inhibitors is expected to emerge rapidly due to the high mutation rate of the virus. Thus, new antiviral drugs, in combination with currently available therapies, are urgently needed to treat HCV infection. In the present study, we evaluated the antiviral efficacy of cuprous oxide nanoparticles (CO-NPs) against HCV in the HCVcc/Huh7.5.1 cell culture system. CO-NPs were able to significantly inhibit the infectivity of HCVcc at a non-cytotoxic concentration. In addition, CO-NPs inhibited the entry of HCV pseudoparticle (HCVpp), including genotypes 1a, 1b, and 2a, while no effect on HCV replication was observed. Further time-of-addition experiment indicated that CO-NPs blocked HCV infection both at the attachment and entry stages. In conclusion, we report that CO-NPs can act as an anti-HCV agent by targeting the binding of infectious HCV particles to hepatic cells and the virus entry into the cells. These findings suggest that CO-NPs may have novel roles in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Biodefense, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Haoran
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Hongyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Biodefense, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: qizt@smmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhongtian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. Electronic address: xuws@medinfect.com.
authors.forename: Wensheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism*; D053585:Virus Attachment / Q000187:drug effects; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D003300:Copper; C000520:cuprous oxide
keywords: Antiviral activity; Cuprous oxide nanoparticles; HCV