Santin inhibits influenza A virus replication through regulating MAPKs and NF-κB pathways

Abstract

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes high morbidity and significant mortality worldwide. Given the limitations of existing vaccination and antiviral drugs, it is urgent to develop new anti-influenza drugs. Flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds with broad applications to treatments for influenza infection. In this study, we demonstrated that santin, a flavonoid compound, showed anti-influenza activity in MDCK and THP-1 cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that santin depressed the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, JNK/SAPK, ERK, and NF-κB factor and subsequently attenuated the expression of inflammatory cytokines in IAV-infected cells. Thus, santin is a potential candidate for the future development of anti-IAV drugs.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Santin
• influenza A virus
• MAPKs
• NF-κB
• inflammatory cytokines

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared that they have no competing interests.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (U1303224 and 81630089) and CAMS Initiative for Innovative Medicine (2017-I2M-3-010); The National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018ZX09711003-005-004).