Journal
VIRUSES-BASEL
Volume 13, Issue 7, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/v13071227
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2; type I IFN (IFN-I); a hepatitis B virus (HBV)-derived peptide; Poly6; IL-6
Categories
Funding
- Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) Research Fund [0420210260]
- BK21-plus education program
- National Research Foundation of Korea
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Poly6, a hepatitis B virus hexamer peptide, shows an anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect with an estimated inhibitory concentration of 2.617 mu M in human bronchial epithelial cells, mediated through an IFN-I dependent manner. It also inhibits IL-6 production enhanced by SARS-CoV-2 in an IFN-I dependent manner, indicating its potential as a COVID-19 drug with potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to develop effective therapeutic strategies. We evaluated the in vitro antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2 of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) hexamer peptide, Poly6, which is capable of eliciting an antiviral effect against human immunodeficiency virus -1 (HIV-1), as a novel HIV-1 integrase inhibitor, and a strong anticancer immune response in an IFN-I-dependent manner, as a novel potential adjuvant in anticancer immunotherapy. Here, we report that Poly6 exerts an anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect, with an estimated 50% inhibitory concentration of 2.617 mu M, in the human bronchial epithelial cell line, Calu-3 but not in Vero-E6 cells, which are deficient in type 1 interferon (IFN-I) signaling. We proved via assays based on mRNA profiles, inhibitors, or blocking antibodies that Poly6 can exert an anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect in an IFN-I-dependent manner. We also found that Poly6 inhibits IL-6 production enhanced by SARS-CoV-2 in infected Calu-3 cells at both the transcription and the translation levels, mediated via IL-10 induction in an IFN-I-dependent manner. These results indicate the feasibility of Poly6 as an IFN-I-inducing COVID-19 drug with potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities.
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