Licorice Compound Destroys Latent Herpesvirus Infection in Lymphocytes

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Licorice Compound Destroys Latent Herpesvirus Infection in Lymphocytes

Reuters Health Information 2005. © 2005 Reuters Ltd. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 08 - Treatment with glycyrrhizic acid, a compound found in licorice root, can destroy latent infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) in B lymphocytes, new research shows. Given the lack of agents with activity against latent infection, this finding could have important clinical implications.

Dr. Francesca Curreli and colleagues, from New York University School of Medicine show that glycyrrhizic acid works by altering the expression of various genes that KSHV uses to maintain its latency and the survival of the infected cell. As a result, glycyrrhizic acid selectively destroys cells infected with the virus, they report in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Therapies that alter the expression of the latent genes could have the potential to completely eradicate herpesvirus infections, the investigators point out.

In a related editorial, Dr. I. Cohen, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, land, comments that "while a compound present in licorice may seem like an unlikely candidate for the treatment of virus-associated cancers, it is important to remember that other traditional drugs have proved highly effective for infectious disease," such as the wormwood-derived chemical artemisinin used against malaria.

J Clin Invest 2005;115:591-593,642-652.