The emergence or reemergence of viruses pose a substantial threat and challenge to the world population, livestock, and wildlife. However, the landscape of
antiviral agents either for human or animal
viral diseases is still underdeveloped. The far tougher actuality is the case that there are no approved
antiviral drugs in the aquaculture industry, although there are diverse viral pathogens. In this study, using a novel epithelial cell line derived from the brain of Micropterus salmoides (MSBr),
inflammation and oxidative stress were found to implicate the major pathophysiology of M. salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) through transcriptome analysis and biochemical tests. Elevated levels of proinflammatory
cytokines (
interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-6, IL-8,
tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], and
gamma interferon [IFN-γ]) and accumulated contents of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as
biomarkers of oxidative damage (
protein carbonyl and 8-OHdG) were observed after MSRV
infection in the MSBr cells.
Mangiferin or
taurine dampened MSRV-induced
inflammation and rescued the oxidative stress and, thus, inhibited the replication of MSRV in the MSBr cells with 50% effective concentration (EC50) values of 6.77 μg/mL and 8.02 μg/mL, respectively. Further,
mangiferin or
taurine hampered the activation of NF-κB1 and the NF-κB1 promoter as well as the increase of phosphorylated NF-κB (p65)
protein level induced by MSRV
infection, indicating their
antiviral mechanism by suppressing NF-κB signaling. These findings exemplify a practice approach, aiming to dampen and redirect inflammatory responses, to develop broad-spectrum
antivirals. IMPORTANCE Aquaculture now provides almost half of all fish for human food in 2021 and plays a significant role in eliminating hunger, promoting health, and reducing poverty. There are diverse viral pathogens that decrease production in aquaculture. We developed a novel epithelial cell line derived from the brain of Micropterus salmoides, which can be used for virus isolation, gene expressing, and drug screening. In this study, we focus on M. salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) and revealed its pathophysiology of
inflammation and oxidative stress. Aiming to dampen and redirect inflammatory responses,
mangiferin or
taurine exhibited their
antiviral capability by suppressing NF-κB signaling. Our findings exemplify a practice approach to develop broad-spectrum
antivirals by dampening and redirecting inflammatory responses.