AU - Zabihollahi, Rezvan AU - Pooshang Bagheri, Kamran AU - Keshavarz, Zohreh AU - Motevalli, Fatemeh AU - Bahramali, Golnaz AU - Siadat, Seyed Davar AU - Momen, Seyed Bahman AU - Shahbazzadeh, Delavar AU - Aghasadeghi, Mohammad Reza TI - Venom Components of Iranian Scorpion Hemiscorpius lepturus Inhibit the Growth and Replication of Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE TA - انستیتو-پاستور-ایران JN - انستیتو-پاستور-ایران VO - 20 VI - 5 IP - 5 4099 - http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/article-1-1801-en.html 4100 - http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/article-1-1801-en.pdf SO - انستیتو-پاستور-ایران 5 AB  - Background: During the recent years, significant progress has been achieved on development of novel anti-viral drugs. Natural products are assumed as the potential sources of novel anti-viral drugs; therefore, there are some previous studies reporting the anti-viral compounds from venomous animals. Based on the significant value for tracing of non-toxic anti-viral agents from natural resources, this study was aimed to investigate the anti-viral activity of some HPLC purified fractions derived from the venom of Iranian scorpion, Hemiscorpius lepturus, against human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). Methods: H. Lepturus crude venom was subjected to reverse phase HPLC analysis to determine its active components precisely where four dominant fractions obtained at retention time of 156-160 minutes. The phospholipase A2 and hemolytic activities of the purified fractions were first evaluated. Then the anti-viral activity was measured using single cycle HIV (NL4-3) replication and HSV (KOS) plaque reduction assays. Results: The H. lepturus crude venom inhibited HIV replication by 73% at the concentration of 200 µg/ml, while it did not show significant anti-HSV activity. It also inhibited the cell-free viral particles in a virucidal assay, while it showed no toxicity for the target cells in a proliferation assay. The four HPLC fractions purified from H. lepturus inhibited HIV with IC50 of 20 µg/ml. Conclusion: H. lepturus venom contains components with considerable anti-HIV activity insofar as it has virucidal activity that offers a novel therapeutic approach against HIV infection. Our results suggest a promising pilot for anti-HIV drug discovery with H. lepturus scorpion venom. CP - IRAN IN - LG - eng PB - انستیتو-پاستور-ایران PG - 259 PT - Full Length/Original Article YR - 2016