Depsides: Lichen Metabolites Active against Hepatitis C Virus.

Thi Huyen Vu (1) , Anne-Cécile Le Lamer (1) , Claudia Lalli (1) , Joël Boustie (1) , Michel Samson (2) , Françoise Lohézic-Le Dévéhat (1) , Jacques Le Seyec (2)

1 ISCR - Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes
2 Irset - Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail

A thorough phytochemical study of Stereocaulon evolutum was conducted, for the isolation of structurally related atranorin derivatives. Indeed, pilot experiments suggested that atra-norin (1), the main metabolite of this lichen, would interfere with the lifecycle of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Eight compounds, including one reported for the first time (2), were isolated and characterized. Two analogs (5, 6) were also synthesized, to enlarge the panel of atra-norin-related structures. Most of these compounds were active against HCV, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of about 10 to 70 µM, with depsides more potent than monoaromatic phenols. The most effective inhibitors (1, 5 and 6) were then added at different steps of the HCV lifecycle. Interestingly, atranorin (1), bearing an aldehyde function at C-3, inhibited only viral entry, whereas the synthetic compounds 5 and 6, bearing a hydroxy-methyl and a methyl function, respectively, at C-3 interfered with viral replication.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Thi Huyen Vu, Anne-Cécile Le Lamer, Claudia Lalli, Joël Boustie, Michel Samson, et al.. Depsides: Lichen Metabolites Active against Hepatitis C Virus.. PLoS ONE, 2015, 10 (3), pp.e0120405. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0120405⟩. ⟨hal-01134343⟩