A Scorpion Defensin BmKDfsin4 Inhibits Hepatitis B Virus Replication in Vitro
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Date
2016-04-27
Authors
Zeng, Zhengyang
Zhang, Qian
Hong, Wei
Xie, Yingqiu
Liu, Yun
Li, Wenxin
Wu, Yingliang
Cao, Zhijian
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major worldwide health problem which can cause
acute and chronic hepatitis and can significantly increase the risk of liver cirrhosis and primary
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nowadays, clinical therapies of HBV infection still mainly rely on
nucleotide analogs and interferons, the usage of which is limited by drug-resistant mutation or side
effects. Defensins had been reported to effectively inhibit the proliferation of bacteria, fungi, parasites
and viruses. Here, we screened the anti-HBV activity of 25 scorpion-derived peptides most recently
characterized by our group. Through evaluating anti-HBV activity and cytotoxicity, we found that
BmKDfsin4, a scorpion defensin with antibacterial and Kv1.3-blocking activities, has a comparable
high inhibitory rate of both HBeAg and HBsAg in HepG2.2.15 culture medium and low cytotoxicity
to HepG2.2.15. Then, our experimental results further showed that BmKDfsin4 can dose-dependently
decrease the production of HBV DNA and HBV viral proteins in both culture medium and cell lysate.
Interestingly, BmKDfsin4 exerted high serum stability. Together, this study indicates that the scorpion
defensin BmKDfsin4 also has inhibitory activity against HBV replication along with its antibacterial
and potassium ion channel Kv1.3-blocking activities, which shows that BmKDfsin4 is a uniquely
multifunctional defensin molecule. Our work also provides a good molecule material which will be
used to investigate the link or relationship of its antiviral, antibacterial and ion channel–modulating
activities in the future.
Description
Keywords
HBV, scorpion defensin, antiviral peptide, multifunction
Citation
Zeng, Z.; Zhang, Q.; Hong, W.; Xie, Y.; Liu, Y.; Li, W.; Wu, Y.; Cao, Z. A Scorpion Defensin BmKDfsin4 Inhibits Hepatitis B Virus Replication in Vitro. Toxins 2016, 8, 124.