In Silico Characterization of Novel Chikungunya Non-Structural Protein 2 Target Peptides

Abstract

Chikungunya is one of the most prevailing epidemics all over the world and the viral non-structural protein 2 (nsP2) plays a significant role in pathogenesis associated with this infection. The Chikungunya viral nsP2 induces a transcriptional shut off that suppresses the host cellular antiviral responses. However, the understanding about Chikungunya viral pathogenic proteins is still in its infancy and a specific drug for the disease has not yet been developed. This work attempts to hypothesise the novel drug target peptides associated with Chikungunya viral nsP2, at sequence level. In the present study the Chikungunya viral strains have clustered into five separate groups based on the viral strain lineage. By constructing a global nsP2 sequence from the nsP2 consensus sequences, the conservation variation analysis is performed. These conserved peptides were elicited and tested for its drug target properties. This study strongly suggests the applicability of the derived drug target peptides for the development of effective drugs for the treatment of Chikungunya infection.