Combined Berberine and Glycyrrhetinic Acid Treatment Confers Antiviral and Host-Protective Effects against CAPRV2023 Infection in Golden Pompano (Trachinotus anak).
TL;DR
Findings indicate that the BBR and GA combination may represent a promising candidate strategy for CAPRV2023 prevention and control, pending further validation, providing preliminary experimental evidence for developing candidate antiviral intervention strategies in marine aquaculture.
Abstract
Carpione rhabdovirus 2023 (CAPRV2023) is an emerging, highly pathogenic pathogen infecting Golden pompano (Trachinotus anak), capable of triggering mass mortality in marine aquaculture populations and causing severe economic losses. Berberine (BBR) and glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) are natural active compounds classified as an isoquinoline alkaloid and a pentacyclic triterpenoid, respectively, both of which are widely utilized in traditional medicine owing to their antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties. In this study, the combined therapeutic efficacy of the BBR and GA combination against CAPRV2023 infection was systematically evaluated at both in vitro and in vivo levels, with the underlying mechanistic pathways of its protective effects further comprehensively investigated. The results demonstrated that the BBR and GA combination exhibited significant antiviral and cytoprotective activities against CAPRV2023 in a time-dependent manner. The combined administration significantly enhanced the survival rate of CAPRV2023-infected Trachinotus anak, reaching up to 63.33%, while concurrently reducing tissue viral loads markedly. This comprehensive protective effect of the combination therapy is primarily attributed to its dual regulatory mechanisms of suppressing viral replication and alleviating host tissue damage. Specifically, this is achieved by attenuating NF-κB-mediated inflammatory cascade amplification, modulating apoptosis-related stress, and regulating immune and oxidative factors including IFN1, RIG-I, Mx, IL-1β, TNF-α, Caspase-3, SOD, and MDA. Overall, these findings indicate that the BBR and GA combination may represent a promising candidate strategy for CAPRV2023 prevention and control, pending further validation, providing preliminary experimental evidence for developing candidate antiviral intervention strategies in marine aquaculture.