Phytoconstituents of Momordica charantia have the ability to inhibit the infectivity of human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) both in vitro and in vivo
Phytoconstituents of Momordica charantia have the ability to inhibit the infectivity of human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) both in vitro and in vivo
Sanaz Ahmadi Ghezeldasht,1,*Arman Mosavat,2Seyed Abdolrahim Rezaee,3
1. Blood Borne Infections Research Center, Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR), Razavi Khorasan, Mashhad, Iran 2. Blood Borne Infections Research Center, Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR), Razavi Khorasan, Mashhad, Iran 3. Immunology Research Center, Inflammation and Inflammatory Diseases Division, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Introduction: There is a pressing need to discover a potent therapy for life-threatening diseases associated with HTLV-1. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), an herbal remedy with recognized antiviral and anticancer attributes, was subjected to testing in this investigation for its impact on HTLV-1 infectivity.
Methods: The alcoholic extract of bitter melon was analyzed using GC-MS. An in vitro assay was conducted by transfecting HUVEC cells with the HTLV-1-MT2 cell line. These cells were exposed to both alcoholic and aqueous extracts at concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 μg/mL. In vivo experiments involved dividing mice into four groups, three of which were treated with HTLV-1-MT-2 cells as the test groups and positive control, while PBS served as the negative control. M. charantia extracts were administered both in the presence and absence of the HTLV-1-MT-2 cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), and splenocytes were collected to assess the HTLV-1-proviral load (PVL) using TaqMan-qPCR.
Results: GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 36 components in M. charantia. The findings demonstrated significant reductions in HTLV-1-PVL when the extract was present in the HUVEC-treated groups (P = 0.001). Moreover, the inhibitory effects of the extracts on HTLV-1 infected mice exhibited noteworthy differences in HTLV-1-PVL between the M. charantia treated groups and the untreated group (P = 0.001). T-cells in MLNs were found to be significantly more susceptible to HTLV-1 compared to other cells (P = 0.001). Notably, there were significant differences in HTLV-1-infected cells between MLNs and splenocytes (P = 0.001 and 0.046, respectively). Additionally, the groups treated with aqueous and alcoholic extracts had a substantial impact on HTLV-1-infected PBMCs (P = 0.002 and 0.009, respectively).
Conclusion: It is possible that M. charantia possesses effective antiviral properties. The significant compounds found in M. charantia may have inhibitory effects on the proliferation and transmission of the HTLV-1 oncovirus