Withaferin A inhibits Chikungunya virus nsP2 protease and shows antiviral activity in the cell culture and mouse model of virus infection.

ABSTRACT: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus causing fever, myalgia, and debilitating joint swelling and pain, which in many patients becomes chronic. The frequent epidemics of CHIKV across the world pose a significant public health burden necessitating the development of effective antiviral therapeutics. A cellular imaging-based high-content screening of natural compounds identified withaferin A (WFA), a steroidal lactone isolated from the plant Withania somnifera, as a potent antiviral against CHIKV. In the ERMS cells, WFA inhibited CHIKV replication early during the life cycle by binding the CHIKV non-structural protein nsP2 and inhibiting its protease activity. This inhibited the viral polyprotein processing and the minus-sense viral RNA synthesis. WFA mounted the nsP

SUBMITTER: Sharma KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11723598 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature