Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Bee Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #391121
Research Project: Managing Honey Bees Against Disease and Colony Stress

Location: Bee Research Laboratory

Title: Adenosine and L-proline can possibly hinder Chinese Sacbrood virus infection in honey bees via immune modulation

Author
item ZHANG, XUEQI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item SUN, LIPING - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHAO, DONGXIANG - Chinese Academy Of Tropical Agricultural Sciences
item HOU, CHUNSHENG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item XIA, XIAOCUI - Department Of Agriculture And Rural Affairs Of Jiangxi Province
item CAI, YUJIAO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LI, JILIAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Chen, Yanping - Judy

Submitted to: Viruses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2022
Publication Date: 6/8/2022
Citation: Zhang, X., Sun, L.S., Zhao, D., Hou, C., Xia, X., Cai, Y., Li, J., Chen, Y. 2022. Adenosine and L-proline can possibly hinder Chinese Sacbrood virus infection in honey bees via immune modulation. Viruses. 573:29-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2022.05.008.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2022.05.008

Interpretive Summary: Sacbrood is an infectious disease caused by the Sacbrood virus and is especially lethal for Asian honeybees. Our previous studies showed that, Radix isatidis (Banlangen), a commonly used Chinese herbal medicine, could inhibit infection and replication in relation to the Chinese sacbrood virus (CSBV) in Asian honeybees. In the present study, we identified two active ingredients in R. isatidis and demonstrated that two components could significantly inhibit CSBV replication and mitigate the impact of CSBV on the growth and development of bee larvae. The results gained from this study suggest that a new natural source of CSBV inhibitors could provide a potential strategy for controlling SBV infection in honeybees and may offer a significant contribution to the development of promising antiviral drugs in honeybee disease prevention and management programs.

Technical Abstract: Sacbrood virus (SBV) infects larvae of honey bees, resulting in infected larvae becoming fluid-filled sacs. Our previous studies showed that the extract of herbal medicine, Radix Isatidis, could inhibit Chinese SBV (CSBV) infection in Asian honey bees (Apis cerana). Here, two compounds, adenosine and L-proline which were previously reported to be associated with immune modulation, were identified in R. Isatidis extract and then selected for an evaluation of their antiviral effect on CSBV infection in A. cerana. Our results revealed that both adenosine and L-proline could significantly mitigate the impact of CSBV on the growth and development of infected larvae and modulate hosts' immune responses by downregulating the expression of immune transcripts in infected larvae. The results gained from this study suggest that adenosine and L-proline could possibly interfere CSBV infection via immune modulation to avoid exacerbations and nonspecific damage to infected larvae's own tissues.