An in Silico approach towards inhibition of Dengue virus entry using CD209 in Dendritic cells as target

Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) infections are expanding worldwide and, because of the lack of a vaccine, the search for antiviral products is imperative. It would be interesting to develop
an antiviral product that can interact with dengue virus(DENV) or its receptor, prevent host cell infection and subsequent immune activation. DENVentry is thus an interesting target for antiviral therapy. DENV enters the host cell through receptor-mediated endocytosis. Several cellular receptors have been proposed, and DC-SIGN(CD209), present on dendritic cells, is considered as the most important DENVreceptor until now. Because DENV entry is a target for antiviral therapy, various classes of compounds have been investigated to inhibit this process. The Carbohydrate Binding Agents(CBAs) are considered effective against inhibiting viral entry into the host cell.In this project, various CBAs like Hippeastrum hybrid (HHA), Galanthus nivalis (GNA), and Urtica dioica (UDA) along with their analogues are used as ligands for the DENV receptor present on the dendritic cells (DCs). Using AutoDock vina, we find their binding energy with the receptor and thus determine an effective CBA and hence a potential drug against the desease. The UDA molecule shows high affinity for the DC-SIGN(CD209) receptor and hence can be used as an effective drug.