1.Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina ;2.Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (IQUIBICEN), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina ;
Abstract:
Resveratrol (RES) is a polyphenol with increasing interest for its inhibitory effects on a wide variety of viruses. Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus which causes a broad spectrum of ophthalmological manifestations in humans. Currently there is no certified therapy or vaccine to treat it, thus it has become a major global health threat. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is highly permissive and susceptible to ZIKV. This work explored the protective effects of RES on ZIKV-infected human RPE cells. RES treatment resulted in a significant reduction of infectious viral particles in infected male ARPE-19 and female hTERT-RPE1 cells. This protection was positively influenced by the action of RES on mitochondrial dynamics. Also, docking studies predicted that RES has a high affinity for two enzymes of the rate-limiting steps of pyrimidine and purine biosynthesis and viral polymerase. This evidence suggests that RES might be a potential antiviral agent to treat ZIKV-induced ocular abnormalities.