ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Virus and Host
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1615300
This article is part of the Research TopicUnraveling Diarrheic Virus-Host Interactions: Mechanisms and ImplicationsView all 6 articles
Saxifraga stolonifera inhibits porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection by disrupting nucleocapsid protein-p53 interaction
Provisionally accepted
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China
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Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an acute, highly contagious intestinal disease caused by the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), which has devastating effects on the global swine industry. Currently, no effective therapeutic agents have been identified for treating PEDV infections. Saxifraga stolonifera (S. stolonifera), valued in traditional Chinese medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties, remains poorly studied regarding its efficacy against PEDV. This study demonstrated the dose-dependent inhibition of PEDV nucleocapsid expression by S. stolonifera in vitro. S. stolonifera strongly inhibited the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Using the network pharmacology, key components such as gallic acid, quercetin, coumarin, and caffeic acid were identified. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that S. stolonifera mainly targeted pathways including p53, MAPK, and TNF to exert anti-PEDV effects. S. stolonifera treatment disrupted the interaction of PEDV N protein and p53. It also modulated the p53-DREAM signaling pathway by reducing p53 and p21 protein levels, while enhancing p130 (Ser672) phosphorylation, E2F4, and Cyclin A protein expression levels. Molecular docking revealed stable hydrogen bonding between the seven core components and the PEDV N protein, with quercetin exhibiting the lowest binding energy. Amino acid sequence analysis showed that quercetin and other components share conserved binding sites with the PEDV N protein. These findings underscore the potential of S. stolonifera as a natural antiviral agent against PEDV infection.
Keywords: PEDV nucleocapsid protein, Saxifraga stolonifera, p53-DREAM signaling pathway, Cell Cycle, Network Pharmacology, molecular docking
Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lu, Liu, Guo, Zhou, Lu, He and Dong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhiyuan He, Beijing Key Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China
Hong Dong, Beijing Key Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China
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