In vivo anti-herpes simplex virus activity of a sulfated derivative of Agaricus brasiliensis mycelial polysaccharide.

Agaricus brasiliensis (syn. A. subrufescens), a basidiomycete fungus native to the Atlantic forest in Brazil, contains cell walls rich in glucomannan polysaccharides. The β-(1 → 2)-gluco-β-(1 → 3)-mannan was isolated from A. brasiliensis mycelium, chemically modified by sulfation, and named MI-S. MI-S has multiple mechanisms of action, including inhibition of herpes simplex virus (HSV) attachment, entry, and cell-to-cell spread (F. T. G. S. Cardozo, C. M. Camelini, A. Mascarello, M. J. Rossi, R. J. Nunes, C. R. Barardi, M. M. de Mendonça, and C. M. O. Simões, Antiviral Res. 92:108-114, 2011). The antiherpetic efficacy of MI-S was assessed in murine ocular, cutaneous, and genital infection models of HSV. Groups of 10 mice were infected with HSV-1 (strain KOS) or HSV-2 (strain 333). MI-S was given either topically or by oral gavage under various pre- and posttreatment regimens, and the severity of disease and viral titers in ocular and vaginal samples were determined. No toxicity was observed in the uninfected groups treated with MI-S. The topical and oral treatments with MI-S were not effective in reducing ocular disease. Topical application of MI-S on skin lesions was also not effective, but cutaneously infected mice treated orally with MI-S had significantly reduced disease scores (P < 0.05) after day 9, suggesting that healing was accelerated. Vaginal administration of MI-S 20 min before viral challenge reduced the mean disease scores on days 5 to 9 (P < 0.05), viral titers on day 1 (P < 0.05), and mortality (P < 0.0001) in comparison to the control groups (untreated and vehicle treated). These results show that MI-S may be useful as an oral agent to reduce the severity of HSV cutaneous and mucosal lesions and, more importantly, as a microbicide to block sexual transmission of HSV-2 genital infections.