Targeting Dengue Virus NS3 Helicase: Biochemical and Computational Evaluation of Catechins from Camellia sinensis as Potential Therapeutic Leads
- 1University of South Carolina Beaufort
Abstract
Dengue virus serotype 2 is a human pathogenic flavivirus encoding non-structural protein 3 (DEN2-NS3), a superfamily-2 viral helicase. DEN2-NS3 contains an N-terminal protease domain and a C-terminal RNA helicase/nucleoside 5'-triphosphatase (NTPase) domain essential for replication. The enzyme utilizes energy from NTP hydrolysis to translocate 3'-to-5' along a duplex RNA substrate. Prompted by the high potency of (--)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against Zika virus, this study investigated if three catechins, EGCG, (--)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (--)-epigallocatechin (EGC), would be potent inhibitors of DEN2-NS3. Enzyme-inhibition assays demonstrated that the catalytic domain, DEN2-NS3(S171-K618), was strongly inhibited by the galloylated catechins (EGCG and ECG), verified by an enzyme-coupled confirmatory assay. Inhibition constants (Ki) and suggestive inhibition modes relative to NTPase activity were Ki = 400 {+/-} 86.6 nM for EGCG (mixed-mode), Ki = 550 {+/-} 250 nM for ECG (uncompetitive), and Ki = 18.3 {+/-} 4.2 {micro}M for EGC (mixed-mode). The coronavirus inhibitor SSYA10-001 inhibited DEN2-NS3 (Ki = 10.2 {+/-} 0.3 {micro}M, mixed-mode). Computational workflows using SiteMap identified a predicted druggable pocket associated with the RNA-binding region, involving residues ASP290, ARG387, ASP409, MET429, HIS487, ASP541, ARG599, and ASP603. Catechins were analyzed through 200-ns molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate binding stability. Computational results revealed that EGCG and ECG maintained high stability, forming highly persistent shared amino acid contacts (>45% occupancy) with ASP603, ARG599, ASP541, and ARG387. Biochemical and computational data support these galloylated catechin leads, suggesting a plausible binding model within an amphipathic pocket. Future structural optimization into stable prodrug derivatives could yield promising antiviral candidates.
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BibTeX
@misc{wojciechowski2026targeting,
title = {{Targeting Dengue Virus NS3 Helicase: Biochemical and Computational Evaluation of Catechins from Camellia sinensis as Potential Therapeutic Leads}},
author = {M. K. Wojciechowski and L. D. Goyzueta-Mamani and M. A. Chavez-Fumagalli and E. L. D'Antonio},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.64898/2026.06.22.733882},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.22.733882v3},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Targeting Dengue Virus NS3 Helicase: Biochemical and Computational Evaluation of Catechins from Camellia sinensis as Potential Therapeutic Leads
AU - M. K. Wojciechowski
AU - L. D. Goyzueta-Mamani
AU - M. A. Chavez-Fumagalli
AU - E. L. D'Antonio
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/22
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.06.22.733882
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.22.733882v3
AB - Dengue virus serotype 2 is a human pathogenic flavivirus encoding non-structural protein 3 (DEN2-NS3), a superfamily-2 viral helicase. DEN2-NS3 contains an N-terminal protease domain and a C-terminal RNA helicase/nucleoside 5'-triphosphatase (NTPase) domain essential for replication. The enzyme utilizes energy from NTP hydrolysis to translocate 3'-to-5' along a duplex RNA substrate. Prompted by the high potency of (--)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against Zika virus, this study investigated if three catechins, EGCG, (--)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (--)-epigallocatechin (EGC), would be potent inhibitors of DEN2-NS3. Enzyme-inhibition assays demonstrated that the catalytic domain, DEN2-NS3(S171-K618), was strongly inhibited by the galloylated catechins (EGCG and ECG), verified by an enzyme-coupled confirmatory assay. Inhibition constants (Ki) and suggestive inhibition modes relative to NTPase activity were Ki = 400 {+/-} 86.6 nM for EGCG (mixed-mode), Ki = 550 {+/-} 250 nM for ECG (uncompetitive), and Ki = 18.3 {+/-} 4.2 {micro}M for EGC (mixed-mode). The coronavirus inhibitor SSYA10-001 inhibited DEN2-NS3 (Ki = 10.2 {+/-} 0.3 {micro}M, mixed-mode). Computational workflows using SiteMap identified a predicted druggable pocket associated with the RNA-binding region, involving residues ASP290, ARG387, ASP409, MET429, HIS487, ASP541, ARG599, and ASP603. Catechins were analyzed through 200-ns molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate binding stability. Computational results revealed that EGCG and ECG maintained high stability, forming highly persistent shared amino acid contacts (>45% occupancy) with ASP603, ARG599, ASP541, and ARG387. Biochemical and computational data support these galloylated catechin leads, suggesting a plausible binding model within an amphipathic pocket. Future structural optimization into stable prodrug derivatives could yield promising antiviral candidates.
ER -