Inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 replication by novel hsa-miR-7704 in vitro

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections are one of the most common diseases in human population. HSV-1 causes subclinical, mild to severe diseases, especially in immunocompromised patients. Acyclovir has been used to reduce manifestations of HSV-1 infections. The extensive use of this drug has led to the development of resistant strains. Thus, designing a novel anti-herpes drug with different mechanisms of action is urgently needed. Cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) have direct antiviral effects in addition to their regulatory functions. In this study we used a novel miRNA (hsa-miR-7704), expressed in macrophages, to inhibit HSV-1 lytic infection in HeLa cells. Synthesized hsa-miR-7704 mimics were transfected into HSV-1 infected HeLa cell. The inhibitory effects of the miRNA were evaluated by plaque assay, real time polymerase chain reaction and the viral titers were measured by the 50 tissue culture infective dose (TCID50). The viral titer and cell cytopathic effect were dramatically decreased in HeLa cells transfected with hsa-miR-7704 (50 and 100 nM), compared with HSV-1 infected cells alone or transfected with the mock miRNA control. These results suggest that hsa-miR-7704 inhibits HSV-1 replication efficiently in vitro. This may provide an alternative mechanism to prevent HSV-1 infections.