Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Discovery of Bispecific Lead Compounds From Azadirachta Indica Against ZIKA NS2B-NS3 Protease and RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Using Molecular Simulations

Sanjay Kumar
ORCID logo ,
Shreif A. El- Kafrawy‎
ORCID logo ,
Shiv Bharadwaj
* ,
S. S. Maitra
,
Thamir A. Alandijany
ORCID logo ,
Arwa A. Faizo
,
Aiah M. Khateb
,
Vivek Dhar Dwivedi
* ORCID logo ,
Esam I. Azhar
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 23 March 2022 / Approved: 24 March 2022 / Online: 24 March 2022 (09:31:59 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Kumar, S.; El-Kafrawy, S.A.; Bharadwaj, S.; Maitra, S.S.; Alandijany, T.A.; Faizo, A.A.; Khateb, A.M.; Dwivedi, V.D.; Azhar, E.I. Discovery of Bispecific Lead Compounds from Azadirachta indica against ZIKA NS2B-NS3 Protease and NS5 RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Using Molecular Simulations. Molecules 2022, 27, 2562. Kumar, S.; El-Kafrawy, S.A.; Bharadwaj, S.; Maitra, S.S.; Alandijany, T.A.; Faizo, A.A.; Khateb, A.M.; Dwivedi, V.D.; Azhar, E.I. Discovery of Bispecific Lead Compounds from Azadirachta indica against ZIKA NS2B-NS3 Protease and NS5 RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Using Molecular Simulations. Molecules 2022, 27, 2562.

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) has been characterized as one of the potential pathogens and placed under future epidemic outbreaks by the WHO. However, lack of potential therapeutics can result in uncontrolled pandemic like other human pandemic viruses; therefore, prioritized effective therapeutics development has been recommended against ZIKV. In this context, the present study adopted the strategy to explore the lead compounds from Azadirachta indica against ZIKV via concurrent inhibition of the ZIKVpro and ZIKVRdRp proteins using molecular simulations. Initially, structure-based virtual screening of 44 bioflavonoids reported in Azadirachta indica against the crystal structures of targeted ZIKV proteins resulted in the identification of top four common bioflavonoids, viz. rutin, nicotiflorin, isoquercitrin, and hyperoside. These compounds showed substantial docking energy (-7.9 to -11.01 kcal/mol) and intermolecular interactions with essential residues of ZIKVpro (His51, Asp74, and Ser135) and ZIKVRdRp (Asp540, Ile799, and Asp665) by comparison to the reference compounds, O7N inhibitor (ZIKVpro) and Sofosbuvir inhibitor (ZIKVRdRp). Long interval molecular dynamics simulation (500 ns) on the selected docked poses reveals the stability of respective docked complexes contributed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. The predicted complex stability was further supported by calculated end-point binding free energy using molecular mechanics generalized born surface area (MM/GBSA) method. Consequently, the identified common bioflavonoids are recommended as promising therapeutic inhibitors of ZIKVpro and ZIKVRdRp for further experimental assessment.

Keywords

Zika Virus; Flavonoids; Azadirachta indica; Molecular Docking; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Binding free energy

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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