Antiviral effects of synthetic membrane-active peptides on Herpes Simplex Virus, Type 1

• Published in: International journal of antimicrobial agents Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 57 - 60
• Main Authors: Egal, Mariam, Conrad, Monta, MacDonald, Dorothy L, Maloy, W.Lee, Motley, Milwood, Genco, Caroline Attardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier B.V 01.09.1999; Amsterdam Elsevier; New York, NY
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Cercopithecus aethiops; Herpes simplex virus; Herpes simplex virus 1; Herpesvirus 1, Human - drug effects; Herpesvirus 1, Human - growth & development; Magainin; magainins; Medical sciences; Membrane-active peptides; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides - chemistry; Peptides - pharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Vero Cells; Viral Plaque Assay; Xenopus laevis; Magainin; Membrane-active peptides; Herpes simplex virus; Antiviral activity; Peptides; Drug susceptibility test; Herpesviridae; Xenopus laevis; Alphaherpesvirinae; Amphibia; Animal origin; Salientia; In vitro; Biological activity; Virus; Vertebrata; Structure activity relation; Established cell line; Antiviral; Herpesvirus hominis; Hemisynthesis
• ISSN: 0924-8579; 1872-7913
• DOI: 10.1016/S0924-8579(99)00094-1

Magainins are cationic peptides with antimicrobial activity which were originally isolated from the skin of the African clawed frog ( Xenopus laevis). Several synthetic derivatives of this class of peptides were evaluated for antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus, type 1 (HSV). Some of the peptides (MSI-102, -248, -420, -499/500 combination, -591, -594, and -1251) showed significant reduction of HSV plaque-forming units. The antiviral effect was enhanced when HSV was pretreated with the peptides prior to inoculation onto Vero monolayers, suggesting a direct effect on the virion. Most of the peptides with anti-HSV activity were lysine-rich, and the addition of octanoyl groups to the peptides appeared to enhance the antiviral effect.