The Anti-Dengue Virus Peptide DV2 Inhibits Zika Virus Both In Vitro and In Vivo

The C-terminal portion of the E protein, known as stem, is conserved among flaviviruses and is an important target to peptide-based antiviral strategies. Since the dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses share sequences in the stem region, in this study we evaluated the cross-inhibition of ZIKV by the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2023-03, Vol.15 (4), p.839
Main Authors: Castro-Amarante, Maria Fernanda de, Pereira, Samuel Santos, Pereira, Lennon Ramos, Santos, Lucas Souza, Venceslau-Carvalho, Alexia Adrianne, Martins, Eduardo Gimenes, Balan, Andrea, Souza Ferreira, Luís Carlos de
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Animals
antiviral
Chlorocebus aethiops
Clinical trials
Cross Reactions
Cytotoxicity
Dengue
Dengue fever
dengue virus
DV2 peptide
Env protein
Flavivirus
Flow cytometry
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Infections
Infectivity
Mice
Molecular modelling
Morbidity
peptide
Peptides
Peptides - pharmacology
Prevention
Proteins
Risk factors
Serotypes
Software
Vaccines
Vero Cells
Viruses
West Nile virus
Zika Virus
Zika Virus Infection - drug therapy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The C-terminal portion of the E protein, known as stem, is conserved among flaviviruses and is an important target to peptide-based antiviral strategies. Since the dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses share sequences in the stem region, in this study we evaluated the cross-inhibition of ZIKV by the stem-based DV2 peptide (419-447), which was previously described to inhibit all DENV serotypes. Thus, the anti-ZIKV effects induced by treatments with the DV2 peptide were tested in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Molecular modeling approaches have demonstrated that the DV2 peptide interacts with amino acid residues exposed on the surface of pre- and postfusion forms of the ZIKA envelope (E) protein. The peptide did not have any significant cytotoxic effects on eukaryotic cells but efficiently inhibited ZIKV infectivity in cultivated Vero cells. In addition, the DV2 peptide reduced morbidity and mortality in mice subjected to lethal challenges with a ZIKV strain isolated in Brazil. Taken together, the present results support the therapeutic potential of the DV2 peptide against ZIKV infections and open perspectives for the development and clinical testing of anti-flavivirus treatments based on synthetic stem-based peptides.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v15040839