Discovery of azaleatin as a potential allosteric inhibitor for dengue NS2B-NS3 protease using in vitro and in silico studies

Abstract

The rise in dengue cases in tropical and sub-tropical areas has become a significant health concern. At present, there is no definitive cure for dengue fever, which underscores the importance of identifying potent inhibitors. Dengue NS2B-NS3 protease is the prime drug target due to its vital function for replication. Quercetin, a flavone, has anti-dengue virus properties but is limited by low bioavailability. Previous studies have shown that methoxy substitution in flavones improves bioavailability and metabolic stability. Azaleatin is a derivative of quercetin with a methoxy substitution at the C5 position, however its ability to inhibit dengue is unknown. In this study, azaleatin was investigated for its inhibition against dengue NS2B-NS3 protease using in vitro and in silico techniques. The fluorescence assay was used to determine the IC₅₀ value and inhibition kinetics. The molecular interaction between azaleatin and NS2B-NS3 was studied using CB-Dock2 and AutoDock Vina. The complex’s stability was then analysed using GROMACS. Besides, the ADMETlab 2.0 was utilized to predict pharmacokinetic of the azaleatin. Results showed that azaleatin inhibits dengue NS2B-NS3 protease non-competitively with a K_i of 26.82 µg/ml and an IC₅₀ of 38 µg/ml. Molecular docking indicated binding of the azaleatin to the allosteric pocket of NS2B-NS3 with a docking score of −8.2 kcal/mol. Azaleatin was found stable in the pocket along 100 ns, supporting its inhibitory mode. The compound has favourable pharmacokinetic profiles and conformed to Lipinski’s Rule of Five. Taken together, azaleatin inhibits NS2B-NS3 protease in a non-competitive mode, suggesting its potential as safer anti-dengue compound.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Dengue NS2B-NS3 protease
• azaleatin
• enzyme kinetics
• molecular interaction
• ADMET

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for research support.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2021/ST G01/UT M/02/8).