The green tea molecule EGCG inhibits Zika virus entry

Author(s)

Carneiro, Bruno M. ; Batista, Mariana N. ; Braga, Ana Claudia S. ; Nogueira, Mauricio L. ; Rahal, Paula

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: VIROLOGY; v. 496, p. 215-218, SEP 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 46

Abstract

During ZIKV the outbreak in Brazil it was observed an increase of almost 20 times the number of reported cases of microcephaly in newborn babies. There is no vaccine or approved drug available for the treatment and prevention of infections by this virus. EGCG, a polyphenol present in green tea has been shown to have an antiviral activity for many viruses. In view of the need for the development of a drug against a Brazilian strain of ZIKV, we assessed the effect of EGCG on ZIKV entry in Vero E6 cells. The drug was capable of inhibiting the virus entry by at least 1-log ( > 90%) at higher concentrations ( > 100 mu M). The pre-treatment of cells with EGCG did not show any effect on virus attachment. This is the first study to demonstrate the effect of EGCG on ZIKV indicating that this drug might be possibility to be used for prevention of Zika virus infections. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/21719-3 - Epidemiological study of dengue (serotypes1-4) in a cohort of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, during 2014-2018
• Grantee: Maurício Lacerda Nogueira
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/22198-0 - Therapeutic potential of Flavonoid-like drugs on Hepatitis C virus infection
• Grantee: Paula Rahal
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/22199-6 - Therapeutic potential of analogous synthetic flavonoid compound on HCV replication cycle
• Grantee: Bruno Moreira Carneiro
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate