In vitro inhibitory activity against HPV of the monoterpenoid zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate

• Main Authors: Ralph Sydney Mboumba Bouassa, Bernard Gombert, Gabin Mwande-Maguene, Aurèle Mannarini, Laurent Bélec
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Heliyon
• Subjects: Terpenoid; Camphor derivates; L-ascorbic acid conjugate; Zn metal; HPV; HPV-16
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021013359

Zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate (or drug “C14”) is a synthetic monoterpenoid derivative that has potent anti-HIV-1 activity in vitro. In this study, we evaluated the in vitro antiviral properties of C14 against human papillomavirus (HPV). Inhibition assay of HPV-16-pseudovirus (PsVs) adsorption on COS-7 cells by C14 was used. C14 inhibited HPV-16-PsVs adsorption with IC50 ranging between 2.9 and 8.3 μM and therapeutic indexes between >410 to >3,300. Pretreatment of COS-7 cells with C14 before addition of HPV-16-PsV was associated with more potent anti-HPV activity than simultaneous deposition on COS-7 of HPV-16-PsV and C14, suggesting that C14 is more effective in preventing HPV attachment to target cells than post-HPV adsorption viral events. Overall, these in vitro studies suggest that the monoterpenoid zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate molecule may be suitable for further clinical evaluations as potential microbicide or therapeutic drug.