Inhibition of Enterovirus 71 by Picochlorum sp. 122 via AKT and ATM/ATR Signaling Pathways

Abstract Enterovirus 71 (EV71) pose a critical threat in global public health and may lead to severe and even lethal cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD). No effective antiviral agents are available to the masses for treatment of HFMD caused by EV71. Polysaccharide provides a good clinical application for antivirus. Polysaccharides extracted from Picochlorum sp. 122 (PPE) is a kind of seaweed Polysaccharides, the reports on its antiviral activity are limited. In this study, the antiviral activity was verified in Vero cells. Briefly, PPE has been demonstrated to restrain EV71 infection through MTT assay and cellular cytopathic effect. In addition, the decrease of the nucleic acid and protein levels of VP1 indicated PPE effectively inhibited the proliferation of EV71 in Vero cells. Furthermore, the annexinV-affinity assay suggested that PPE protected host cells from apoptosis. The mechanistic investigations revealed that PPE restrained EV71-induced host-cells apoptosis by AKT and ATM/ATR signaling pathways. In conclusion, these results demonstrate PPE is a hopeful antiviral drug for the infection of EV71.