Effects of polyphenol compounds on influenza A virus replication and definition of their mechanism of action.
Fioravanti R, Celestino I, Costi R, Cuzzucoli Crucitti G, Pescatori L, Mattiello L, Novellino E, Checconi P, Palamara AT, Nencioni L, Di Santo R.
A set of polyphenol compounds was synthesized and assayed for their ability in inhibiting influenza A virus replication. A sub-set of them showed low toxicity. The best compounds within this sub-set were 4 and 6g, which inhibited the viral replication in a dose-dependent manner. The antiviral activity of these molecules was demonstrated to be caused by their interference with intracellular pathways exploited for viral replication: (1) MAP kinases controlling nuclear-cytoplasmic traffic of viral ribonucleoprotein complex; (2) redox-sensitive pathways, involved in maturation of viral hemagglutinin protein.