Activity evaluation of synthetic prenylated chalcones in HCV replication in vitro

• Grant number: 15/04396-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Paula Rahal
• Grantee: Carina Machado Pereira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Hepatitis C is a viral disease caused by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) that affects between 130 and 170 million people worldwide. It is an asymptomatic disease, have non-specific symptoms, carrying the late diagnosis, or absent. The treatment most used today is based on the use of interferon-± and ribavirin. And this treatment does not provide a good SVR for all genotype, moreover, the side effects are drastically and the cost is high. Flavonoids, natural compounds already described with antiviral activity, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antioxidants and significant anticancer activity demonstrated anti-HCV activity. The chalcones derived flavonoids may have antioxidative, antiviral and antitumor activities, and may perform other biological activities by presence of prenyl and hydroxyl group, which can vary in number and position in the rings A and B. However, although many natural compounds extracted from plants present pharmaceutical potential, isolation and purification processes are limiting in many cases, synthetic compounds based on natural structures are more attractive approach in the search for new therapies. Thus, the present work aims to study the effect of prenylated chalcones in HCV replication in vitro, by tests of viral replication, cell viability, Western blotting and immunofluorescence in cells culture expressing subgenomic replicon SGR-FEO HCV.