Dengue fever

About: Dengue fever is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17463 publications have been published within this topic receiving 485745 citations. The topic is also known as: Dengue & dengue disease.

Antiviral compounds discovered by virtual screening of small-molecule libraries against dengue virus E protein.

Abstract: Infection by the mosquito-borne dengue virus causes dengue fever and the sometimes fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever. The increasing number of dengue infections per year suggests that the virus is becoming more virulent and its transmission is expanding. Nevertheless, no effective treatment for dengue infection currently exists. In a search for antiviral agents effective against dengue virus, we investigated the potential of targeting a structural protein site rather than an enzymatic one. Using this approach, we now report the discovery of a small molecule ligand that inhibits viral growth. Our results also provide the first evidence that the binding site, a pocket located at the hinge between domains 1 and 2 of the envelope protein (E protein) on the virus surface, is a valid target for antiviral therapy. Ligand candidates were identified from libraries of approximately 142,000 compounds using a computational high-throughput screening protocol targeting this pocket of the E protein. Cell-based assays were conducted on 23 top-ranked compounds. Among four with good antiviral activity profiles, the compound P02 was found to inhibit viral reproduction at micromolar concentrations. Using saturation transfer difference NMR spectroscopy, we also show that the compound binds virus and competes for binding E protein with the known ligand N-octyl-beta-D-glucoside. Together, the results are consistent with an inhibition mechanism against maturation or host-cell entry mediated by ligand binding to the E-protein pocket. P02 is a promising lead compound for future development of an effective treatment against dengue virus and related flaviviruses.

Genetically modified, live attenuated dengue virus type 3 vaccine candidates.

Abstract: Three novel recombinant dengue type 3 (DEN3) virus vaccine candidates have been generated from a DEN3 virus isolated from a mild outbreak of dengue fever in the Sleman area of central Java in Indonesia in 1978. Antigenic chimeric viruses were prepared by replacing the membrane precursor and envelope (ME) proteins of recombinant DEN4 (rDEN4) virus with those from DEN3 Sleman/78 in the presence (rDEN3/4Delta30(ME)) and the absence (rDEN3/4(ME)) of the Delta30 mutation, a previously described 30-nucleotide deletion in the 3' untranslated region. In addition, a full-length infectious cDNA clone was generated from the DEN3 isolate and used to produce rDEN3 virus and the vaccine candidate rDEN3Delta30. The chimeric viruses rDEN3/4(ME) and rDEN3/4Delta30(ME) appear to be acceptable vaccine candidates since they were restricted in replication in severe combined immune deficiency mice transplanted with human hepatoma cells, in rhesus monkeys, and in Aedes and Toxorynchites mosquitoes, and each was protective in rhesus monkeys against DEN3 virus challenge. The rDEN3/4(ME) and rDEN3/4Delta30(ME) viruses were comparable in all parameters evaluated, indicating that antigenic chimerization resulted in the observed high level of attenuation. Surprisingly, rDEN3Delta30 was not attenuated in any model tested when compared with wild-type rDEN3 and therefore, is not a vaccine candidate at present. Thus, the rDEN3/4(ME) and rDEN3/4Delta30(ME) antigenic chimeric viruses can be considered for evaluation in humans and for inclusion in a tetravalent dengue vaccine.

Global Cross-Talk of Genes of the Mosquito Aedes aegypti in Response to Dengue Virus Infection

Abstract: Background The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue virus (DENV) infection in humans, and DENV is the most important arbovirus across most of the subtropics and tropics worldwide. The early time periods after infection with DENV define critical cellular processes that determine ultimate success or failure of the virus to establish infection in the mosquito.

Risk Factors for the Presence of Chikungunya and Dengue Vectors (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), Their Altitudinal Distribution and Climatic Determinants of Their Abundance in Central Nepal

Abstract: Background The presence of the recently introduced primary dengue virus vector mosquito Aedes aegypti in Nepal, in association with the likely indigenous secondary vector Aedes albopictus, raises public health concerns. Chikungunya fever cases have also been reported in Nepal, and the virus causing this disease is also transmitted by these mosquito species. Here we report the results of a study on the risk factors for the presence of chikungunya and dengue virus vectors, their elevational ceiling of distribution, and climatic determinants of their abundance in central Nepal. Methodology/Principal Findings We collected immature stages of mosquitoes during six monthly cross-sectional surveys covering six administrative districts along an altitudinal transect in central Nepal that extended from Birgunj (80 m above sea level [asl]) to Dhunche (highest altitude sampled: 2,100 m asl). The dengue vectors Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were commonly found up to 1,350 m asl in Kathmandu valley and were present but rarely found from 1,750 to 2,100 m asl in Dhunche. The lymphatic filariasis vector Culex quinquefasciatus was commonly found throughout the study transect. Physiographic region, month of collection, collection station and container type were significant predictors of the occurrence and co-occurrence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The climatic variables rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity were significant predictors of chikungunya and dengue virus vectors abundance. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that chikungunya and dengue virus vectors have already established their populations up to the High Mountain region of Nepal and that this may be attributed to the environmental and climate change that has been observed over the decades in Nepal. The rapid expansion of the distribution of these important disease vectors in the High Mountain region, previously considered to be non-endemic for dengue and chikungunya fever, calls for urgent actions to protect the health of local people and tourists travelling in the central Himalayas.