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Review
. 2015 Aug 21;3(3):464-83.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms3030464.

Role of Bacterial Exopolysaccharides as Agents in Counteracting Immune Disorders Induced by Herpes Virus

Concetta Gugliandolo  1 , Antonio Spanò  2 , Teresa L Maugeri  3 , Annarita Poli  4   5 , Adriana Arena  6   7 , Barbara Nicolaus  8   9
Affiliations
Review

Role of Bacterial Exopolysaccharides as Agents in Counteracting Immune Disorders Induced by Herpes Virus

Concetta Gugliandolo et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Extreme marine environments, such as the submarine shallow vents of the Eolian Islands (Italy), offer an almost unexplored source of microorganisms producing unexploited and promising biomolecules for pharmaceutical applications. Thermophilic and thermotolerant bacilli isolated from Eolian vents are able to produce exopolysaccharides (EPSs) with antiviral and immunomodulatory effects against Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). HSV-2 is responsible for the most common and continuously increasing viral infections in humans. Due to the appearance of resistance to the available treatments, new biomolecules exhibiting different mechanisms of action could provide novel agents for treating viral infections. The EPSs hinder the HSV-2 replication in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) but not in WISH (Wistar Institute Susan Hayflic) cells line, indicating that cell-mediated immunity was involved in the antiviral activity. High levels of Th1-type cytokines were detected in PBMC treated with all EPSs, while Th2-type cytokines were not induced. These EPSs are water soluble exopolymers able to stimulate the immune response and thus contribute to the antiviral immune defense, acting as immunomodulators. As stimulants of Th1 cell-mediated immunity, they could lead to the development of novel drugs as alternative in the treatment of herpes virus infections, as well as in immunocompromised host.

Keywords: Eolian Islands; antivirals; exopolysaccharides; extremophiles; herpes simplex virus; immunomodulators; shallow marine vents.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Eolian Archipelago (Italy).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Elution profiles from DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B of EPSs fractions produced by Bacillus licheniformis strain B3-15 (a); Geobacillus thermodenitrificans strain B3-72 (b); Bacillus licheniformis strain T14 (c).
Figure 3
Figure 3
GC-MS of hydrolysed EPSs fractions produced by Bacillus licheniformis strain B3-15 (a); Geobacillus thermodenitrificans strain B3-72 (b); Bacillus licheniformis strain T14 (c).
Figure 4
Figure 4
1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra of EPSs fractions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra of EPSs fractions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
IR spectrum of the EPS1 produced by B. licheniformis strain T14.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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