Exploring the Targets of Dengue Virus and Designs of Potential Inhibitors

Background: Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease spread by the dengue virus (DENV), has become one of the most alarming health issues in the global scenario in recent days. The risk of infection by DENV is mostly high in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The mortality rate of patients affected with DENV is ever-increasing, mainly due to a lack of anti-dengue viral-specific synthetic drug components. Introduction: Repurposing synthetic drugs has been an effective tool in combating several pathogens, including DENV. However, only the Dengvaxia vaccine has been developed so far to fight against the deadly disease despite the grave situation, mainly because of the limitations of understanding the actual pathogenicity of the disease. Methods: To address this particular issue and explore the actual disease pathobiology, several potential targets, like three structural proteins and seven non-structural (NS) proteins, along with their inhibitors of synthetic and natural origin, have been screened using docking simulation. Results: Exploration of these targets, along with their inhibitors, has been extensively studied in culmination with molecular docking-based screening to potentiate the treatment. Conclusion: These screened inhibitors could possibly be helpful for the designing of new congeneric potential compounds to combat dengue fever and its complications.