Manzamine A as a Novel Inhibitor of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Replication in Cultured Corneal Cells

This study investigated the putative inhibitory effect of manzamine A on HSV-1 infection. Our results indicated that manzamine A effectively inhibited viral replication and infection in the cell line SIRC, a corneal cell line, at 1 mu M. The existing anti-HSV-1 drug acyclovir was analyzed and showed a comparable activity at 50 mu M. Plaque assays demonstrated that manzamine A reduced the release of infectious virus by 10(11)-fold. RTPCR assays indicated that HSV-1 virion host shutoff (vhs) activity and ICP0 transcription were decreased by manzamine A treatment. These results bode well for the development of manzamines as potential leads to reduce viral infection in corneal cells and to prevent HSV-1-induced eye infections such as keratitis.