ALBERT

Description: Diphenyl diselenide, (PhSe) 2 , is an organoselenium compound with pharmacological actions mostly related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The study investigated its antiviral and virucidal actions against herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infection in vitro and in a vaginal infection model in mice. The plaque reduction assay indicated that (PhSe) 2 showed virucidal and antiviral actions reducing infectivity in 70.8 and 47%, respectively. The antiviral action of (PhSe) 2 against HSV-2 vaginal infection was performed by infecting mice (10 5 PFU/ml −1 ) at day 6. The treatment with (PhSe) 2 (5 mg/kg/day, intragastric (i.g.) followed 5 days before and for more 5 days after infection. The extravaginal lesion score was evaluated from day 6 to 10. At day 11, animals were killed and histological evaluation, determination of viral load and TNF-α and IFN-γ levels were performed in supernatants of homogenized vaginal tissue. The levels of reactive species (RS); protein carbonyl, non-protein thiols (NPSH), nitrate/nitrite (NOx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were determined. (PhSe) 2 reduced the histological damage, extravaginal lesion scores, the viral load of vaginal tissue and the activity of MPO but increased the levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ. (PhSe) 2 attenuated the increase of RS, MDA, NOx levels and the activity of GR caused by infection. (PhSe) 2 also attenuated the reduction of NPSH content and the inhibition of CAT, SOD and GPx activities. The antiviral action of (PhSe) 2 against HSV-2 infection was related to its immunomodulatory, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved