Aspirin, also known as
acetylsalicylic acid, is widely consumed as a
pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory as well as anti-platelet agent. Recently, our studies using the animal model of Drosophila demonstrated that the dietary supplementation of
aspirin renovates age-onset intestinal dysfunction and delays organismal aging. Nevertheless, it remains probable that
aspirin plays functional roles in other biological activities, for instance
antiviral defense reactions. Intriguingly, we observed that the replications of several types of viruses were drastically antagonized in Drosophila macrophage-like S2 cells with the addition of
aspirin. Further in vivo experimental approaches illustrate that adult flies consuming
aspirin harbor higher resistances to
viral infections with respect to flies without
aspirin treatment. Mechanistically,
aspirin positively contributes to the Drosophila
antiviral defense largely through mediating the
STING (stimulator of
interferon genes) but not the IMD (immune deficiency) signaling pathway. Collectively, our studies uncover a novel biological function of
aspirin in modulating Drosophila
antiviral immunity and provide theoretical bases for exploring new
antiviral treatments in clinical trials.