Redox-Modulating Agents in the Treatment of Viral Infections

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Mauro Magnani¹  Alessandra Fraternale¹  MariaElena Marcocci²  Marta De Angelis²  Lucia Nencioni²  AnnaTeresa Palamara³  Paola Checconi³ 

[1] Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo,61029 Urbino (PU), Italy;Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of Life, San Raffaele Roma Open University, 00166 Rome, Italy;

关键词: redox state;    reduced glutathione (GSH);    antioxidants;    Nrf2;    viral infections;    influenza;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms21114084

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Viruses use cell machinery to replicate their genome and produce viral proteins. For this reason, several intracellular factors, including the redox state, might directly or indirectly affect the progression and outcome of viral infection. In physiological conditions, the redox balance between oxidant and antioxidant species is maintained by enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems, and it finely regulates several cell functions. Different viruses break this equilibrium and induce an oxidative stress that in turn facilitates specific steps of the virus lifecycle and activates an inflammatory response. In this context, many studies highlighted the importance of redox-sensitive pathways as novel cell-based targets for therapies aimed at blocking both viral replication and virus-induced inflammation. In the review, we discuss the most recent findings in this field. In particular, we describe the effects of natural or synthetic redox-modulating molecules in inhibiting DNA or RNA virus replication as well as inflammatory pathways. The importance of the antioxidant transcription factor Nrf2 is also discussed. Most of the data reported here are on influenza virus infection. We believe that this approach could be usefully applied to fight other acute respiratory viral infections characterized by a strong inflammatory response, like COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

Unknown