title: Progress in the identification of dengue virus entry/fusion inhibitors.
abstract: Dengue fever, a reemerging disease, is putting nearly 2.5 billion people at risk worldwide. The number of infections and the geographic extension of dengue fever infection have increased in the past decade. The disease is caused by the dengue virus, a flavivirus that uses mosquitos Aedes sp. as vectors. The disease has several clinical manifestations, from the mild cold-like illness to the more serious hemorrhagic dengue fever and dengue shock syndrome. Currently, there is no approved drug for the treatment of dengue disease or an effective vaccine to fight the virus. Therefore, the search for antivirals against dengue virus is an active field of research. As new possible receptors and biological pathways of the virus biology are discovered, new strategies are being undertaken to identify possible antiviral molecules. Several groups of researchers have targeted the initial step in the infection as a potential approach to interfere with the virus. The viral entry process is mediated by viral proteins and cellular receptor molecules that end up in the endocytosis of the virion, the fusion of both membranes, and the release of viral RNA in the cytoplasm. This review provides an overview of the targets and progress that has been made in the quest for dengue virus entry inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology of Diseases, Institute for Scientific Research and Technology Services (INDICASAT-AIP), P.O. Box 0843-01103, City of Panama, Panama ; Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar, Andhra Pradesh 522 510, India.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9505-0873
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De La Guardia
authors.affiliation: Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology of Diseases, Institute for Scientific Research and Technology Services (INDICASAT-AIP), P.O. Box 0843-01103, City of Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5830-6315
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lleonart
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000187:drug effects*; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000378:metabolism; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D011991:Receptors, Virus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins