Gan-Lu-Siao-Du-yin, a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, inhibited enterovirus 71 replication, translation, and virus-induced cell apoptosis

Ethnopharmacological relevanceGan-Lu-Siao-Du-yin (GLSDY) is a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine. GLSDY contains 11 ingredients and is commonly used for endemic diseases. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is an endemic disease that can cause meningoencephalitis with mortality and neurologic sequelae without any effective management. It is unknown whether GLSDY is effective against EV71 infection.Aim of the studyTo test the hypothesis that GLSDY can protect cell from EV71-induced injury.Materials and methodsEffects of a hot water extract of GLSDY on EV71 were tested in human foreskin fibroblast cells (CCFS-1/KMC) and human rhabdomyosarcoma cells (RD cells) by plaque reduction assay and flow cytometry respectively. Inhibition of viral replication was further examined by reverse quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Its effect on viral protein translation and virus-induced apoptosis were examined by western blot.ResultsGLSDY was dose-dependently effective against EV71 infection (p<0.0001) in both CCFS-1/KMC cells and RD cells. GLSDY was highly effective when supplemented after viral inoculation (P<0.0001) with an IC50 of 8.7 μg/mL. GLSDY inhibited viral RNA replication (P<0.0001), formation of viral structural proteins (VP0, VP1, VP2 and VP3) and non-structural proteins (protease 2B and 3AB). Furthermore, 300 μg/mL GLSDY is effective to inhibit virus-induced apoptosis possibly through direct inhibition of caspase-8 and indirectly by inhibition of Bax.ConclusionsGLSDY is cheap and readily available to manage EV71 infection by inhibiting viral replication, viral protein formations, and EV71-induced apoptosis.

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