Authors
Hongqiao Hu, Ying Yang, Jinbin Zhang, Yican Wang, Xun Zhou, Lixia Li, Yuanfeng Zou, Mingyue Li, Shujun Dai, Yifei Lang, Xu Song
Published in
Veterinary sciences. Volume 13. Issue 9. Sep 16, 2026. Epub Sep 16, 2026.
Abstract
Pseudorabies virus (PRV), a member of the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, poses a significant economic threat to the global swine industry and has raised growing public health concerns due to its cross-species transmission potential. Given emerging variants and the fact that current vaccines are restricted to pigs, novel antiviral agents are urgently needed. The present study assessed the anti-PRV activity of isoliquiritigenin, as well as its modulatory role in innate immune pathways, using cell-based assays and a PRV-infected mouse model. The results showed that isoliquiritigenin exhibited a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 35.47 μM and a selective index of 3.34 in PK-15 cells, with efficacy sustained at high infectious dose. Mechanistically, it counteracted PRV-induced suppression of type I interferon responses, correlating with core genes in the cGAS/STING pathway and enhancing IRF3 phosphorylation, while also activating the JAK/STAT axis and increasing STAT1 phosphorylation. In vivo, treatment with isoliquiritigenin decreased mortality by 40 percentage points (from 70% to 30%), substantially suppressed viral burden in various tissues, and concomitantly activated type I interferon signaling. Collectively, these findings suggest that isoliquiritigenin potentiates host innate immunity, potentially through the cGAS/STING and JAK/STAT cascades, offering a novel flavonoid-based lead for anti-herpesvirus drug development.
PMID:
42798008
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Sep 2026.
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