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PLoS One
. 2021 Jun 9;16(6):e0251649.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251649. eCollection 2021.
Identification and evaluation of the inhibitory effect of Prunella vulgaris extract on SARS-coronavirus 2 virus entry
Zhujun Ao 1 , Mable Chan 2 , Maggie Jing Ouyang 1 , Titus Abiola Olukitibi 1 , Mona Mahmoudi 1 , Darwyn Kobasa 2 , Xiaojian Yao 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 34106944
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251649
Abstract
Until now, antiviral therapeutic agents are still urgently required for treatment or prevention of SARS-coronavirus 2 (SCoV-2) virus infection. In this study, we established a sensitive SCoV-2 Spike glycoprotein (SP), including an SP mutant D614G, pseudotyped HIV-1-based vector system and tested their ability to infect ACE2-expressing cells. Based on this system, we have demonstrated that an aqueous extract from the Natural herb Prunella vulgaris (NhPV) displayed potent inhibitory effects on SCoV-2 SP (including SPG614 mutant) pseudotyped virus (SCoV-2-SP-PVs) mediated infections. Moreover, we have compared NhPV with another compound, Suramin, for their anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities and the mode of their actions, and found that both NhPV and Suramin are able to directly interrupt SCoV-2-SP binding to its receptor ACE2 and block the viral entry step. Importantly, the inhibitory effects of NhPV and Suramin were confirmed by the wild type SARS-CoV-2 (hCoV-19/Canada/ON-VIDO-01/2020) virus infection in Vero cells. Furthermore, our results also demonstrated that the combination of NhPV/Suramin with an anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody mediated a more potent blocking effect against SCoV2-SP-PVs. Overall, by using SARS-CoV-2 SP-pseudotyped HIV-1-based entry system, we provide strong evidence that NhPV and Suramin have anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and may be developed as a novel antiviral approach against SARS-CoV-2 infection.