Prophylactic treatment with BX795 blocks activation of AKT and its downstream targets to protect vaginal keratinocytes and vaginal epithelium from HSV-2 infection.

ABSTRACT: Genital herpes infections in humans are usually caused by herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2), which result in recurrent lesions in the anogenital region. Past studies have shown that a viral protein translation inhibitor, BX795 is capable of mitigating HSV-2 infection both in vitro and in vivo when dosed therapeutically. However, any preventative benefits of this compound against HSV-2 infection remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that BX795 when added prophylactically to human vaginal keratinocytes generates strong preventative effects against a future HSV-2 infection. As a possible mechanism for this action, we found that BX795 efficiently reduces phosphorylation of AKT and its downstream targets p70S6K and 4EBP1. Our in-silico protein docking studies support our immunoblot

SUBMITTER: Madavaraju K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8446323 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature