Virucidal activity of human α- and β-defensins against hepatitis C virus genotype 4.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major etiological agent of human non-A and non-B hepatitis affecting about 180 million people worldwide. The goal of the current study was to find effective anti-HCV proteins. As a result, defensins were selected as promising candidates due to their well-known anti-viral potential and small size. We conducted in vitro evaluation of two kinds of defensins (human α- and β-defensins and synthetic linear avian α-defensins) using tissue culture combined with reverse transcription nested PCR (RT-nested-PCR) and real-time PCR. Human α- and β-defensins showed strong anti-HCV activity in experiments on cellular protection, neutralization, and treatment at all concentrations used (10, 20 and 50 μg). The synthetic linear defensins could reach similar anti-HCV potential only at a noticeably higher concentration (250 μg) and do not show noticeable activity at 10 and 20 μg. This study suggests that defensins are potent anti-HCV agents.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. redwan1961@yahoo.com vuversky@health.usf.edu.
Ehab H
EH
Mattar
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. redwan1961@yahoo.com vuversky@health.usf.edu.
Hussein A
HA
Almehdar
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. redwan1961@yahoo.com vuversky@health.usf.edu and Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA and Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
Vladimir N
VN
Uversky
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. redwan1961@yahoo.com vuversky@health.usf.edu and Therapeutic and Protective Proteins Laboratory, Protein Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, New Borg EL-Arab 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
Elrashdy M
EM
Redwan
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000187:drug effects; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects; D023084:alpha-Defensins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D023084:alpha-Defensins; D023083:beta-Defensins