Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To explore possible antiviral properties of resveratrol against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication. Resveratrol is a naturally occurring antioxidant found in grapes and red wine that has been shown to protect against coronary artery disease and inhibit platelet aggregation. Since resveratrol also exhibits antiviral properties against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) replication on monolayers of Vero cells in a dose-dependent and reversible manner (Docherty et al, 1999), we hypothesized that this phytoalexin would also inhibit HCMV replication in culture. Methods: Monolayers of human embryonic lung (MRC-5) fibroblasts were inoculated with known amounts of HCMV (AD169). Following a 1 hr adsorption, resveratrol diluted in either 1% ethanol or 1% DMSO at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, 25, or 50 ug/ml was added to washed HCMV-infected cell monolayers. Control HCMV-infected monolayers were maintained in growth media without resveratrol. All monolayers were scored and compared for number and size of HCMV plaques at 10 days postinfection. Results: Resveratrol reduced the formation of HCMV plaques in a dose-dependent manner. Although 25 and 50 ug/ml proved to be toxic to MRC-5 cells by 10 days postinfection, resveratrol at a concentration of 10 ug/ml reduced HCMV plaque formation in three separate experiments by 70 to 89% (average reduction = 80%). Plaque size was also markedly reduced at this concentration. Conclusion: Resveratrol exhibits antiviral activity against HCMV replication in culture. When compared with results reported previously for HSV-1 and HSV-2, HCMV appears to be more sensitive to resveratrol than HSV-1 and HSV-2 (10 ug/ml versus 50 ug/ml, respectively).
Keywords: 382 cytomegalovirus • 322 antiviral drugs • 390 drug toxicity/drug effects