Background. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infestation was the most widespread STD (sexually transmitted diseases) among humans and was the leading cause of infectious recurrent genital herpes. Existing therapies against HSV-2 did incompletely restrain the comeback of activated HSV-2 infestation. Geranium wilfordii Maxim had long been used as traditional Chinese medicine for treating the diseases owing to its anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. Herein, the study was designed to investigate the antiviral activity of G.wilfordii and its potential effect in regulating the host’s immune response. Methods. To identify the stage of infection at which the compounds inhibited HSV-2, we performed virucidal, therapeutic, and prophylactic assays. The antiviral efficacy was evaluated by the analysis of viral components HSV-2 gD and VP16. The antiviral activities of these compounds were also evaluated by phenotypic analysis, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis. Molecular docking studies on candidate compounds were done to indicate binding interactions between the compounds and adopted compound targets. Results. Quercetin, corilagin, and geraniin inhibited the replication of HSV-2, with geraniin showing greater TI. The obtained IC₅₀ value of quercetin was 204.7 μM and TI (IC₅₀/EC₅₀) was 5.1, whereas the obtained IC₅₀ value of corilagin was 118.0 μg/ml and TI was 4.05. Geraniin exhibited prominent antiviral activity with an IC₅₀ of 212.4 μM and an EC₅₀ of 18.37 μM, resulting in a therapeutic index (TI) of 11.56. Geraniin showed important in vitro virucidal activity through blocking viral attachment. Compared with the virus group, the apoptosis rates in quercetin-, corilagin-, and geraniin-treated groups were significantly decreased ().The expressions at the transcription genes of virus own replication key factors (including HSV-2 gD and VP16) and cytokines (including TBK1) of infected cells treated with quercetin, corilagin, and geraniin were inhibited. The in silico approaches demonstrated a high number of potential strong intermolecular interactions as hydrogen bonds between geraniin, corilagin, and the activity site of HSV-2 gD. Molecular docking studies demonstrated the effects of corilagin by targeting TBK1. Conclusions. Together, these results highlighted the importance of G.wilfordii treatment in HSV-2 infection and underscored its therapeutic potential. However, additional in vitro and in vivo research was required to validate our findings.

中文翻译：

---

使用体外和计算机方法对天竺葵中多酚类物质对 HSV-2 感染的抗病毒作用

背景。单纯疱疹病毒2 型 (HSV-2) 感染是人类中最普遍的 STD（性传播疾病），并且是传染性复发性生殖器疱疹的主要原因。现有的针对 HSV-2 的疗法确实不能完全抑制活化的 HSV-2 感染的卷土重来。天竺葵具有抗炎和抗病毒作用，长期以来一直被用作治疗疾病的中药。在此，该研究旨在调查G.wilfordii的抗病毒活性及其在调节宿主免疫反应中的潜在作用。方法. 为了确定化合物抑制 HSV-2 的感染阶段，我们进行了杀病毒、治疗和预防试验。通过分析病毒成分 HSV-2 gD和VP16来评估抗病毒功效。这些化合物的抗病毒活性也通过表型分析进行评估，例如细胞增殖和凋亡。对候选化合物进行了分子对接研究，以表明化合物与采用的化合物靶标之间的结合相互作用。结果。槲皮素、corilagin 和 geraniin 抑制 HSV-2 的复制，其中 geraniin 显示出更大的 TI。得到的槲皮素IC ₅₀值为204.7  μ M，TI (IC ₅₀ /EC₅₀ )为5.1，而得到的corilagin的IC 50_值为118.0μg  /ml，TI为4.05。Geraniin 表现出显着的抗病毒活性，IC ₅₀为 212.4  μM，EC ₅₀为 18.37  μM，治疗指数 (TI) 为 11.56。Geraniin通过阻断病毒附着显示出重要的体外杀病毒活性。与病毒组相比，槲皮素、corilagin和香叶苷处理组的细胞凋亡率显着降低。）。槲皮素、corilagin和geraniin处理的感染细胞的病毒自身复制关键因子（包括HSV-2 gD和VP16）和细胞因子（包括TBK1 ）的转录基因表达计算机方法显示了大量潜在的强分子间相互作用，如香叶苷、corilagin 和 HSV-2 gD的活性位点之间的氢键。分子对接研究通过靶向TBK1证明了 corilagin 的作用。结论。总之，这些结果突出了G.wilfordii的重要性治疗 HSV-2 感染并强调其治疗潜力。然而，需要额外的体外和体内研究来验证我们的发现。