title: The green tea molecule EGCG inhibits Zika virus entry.
abstract: During ZIKV the outbreak in Brazil it was observed an increase of almost 20 times the number of reported cases of microcephaly in newborn babies. There is no vaccine or approved drug available for the treatment and prevention of infections by this virus. EGCG, a polyphenol present in green tea has been shown to have an antiviral activity for many viruses. In view of the need for the development of a drug against a Brazilian strain of ZIKV, we assessed the effect of EGCG on ZIKV entry in Vero E6 cells. The drug was capable of inhibiting the virus entry by at least 1-log (>90%) at higher concentrations (>100μM). The pre-treatment of cells with EGCG did not show any effect on virus attachment. This is the first study to demonstrate the effect of EGCG on ZIKV indicating that this drug might be possibility to be used for prevention of Zika virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: brunocopo@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Bruno M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Batista
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cláudia S
authors.initials: ACS
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, FAMERP, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maurício L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rahal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry*; D014709:Vero Cells; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000187:drug effects*; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea; D002392:Catechin; C045651:epigallocatechin gallate
keywords: (−)-Epigallocatechin gallate; Antiviral; Green-tea; Zika virus