Structural and functional analysis of Japanese encephalitis virus drug targets in focus on immune evasion mechanisms

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis (JEV) is a well-known arthropod-borne pathogen that is considered an emerging pathogen that causes brain infections. It has a high mortality rate, and morbidity is responsible for 10,000 to 15,000 deaths each year. Nerve cell entry and central nervous system infection are where the virus begins its neuronal invasion phase. It weakens the body's natural defences and sets in motion the neurotrophic effects. There is no effective treatment or drug to combat the inhibition; however, there are some vaccine candidates on the market. JEV drug targets and their functional analysis determine which drugs are most effective in inhibiting the invasion and hijacking of host immune cells. Viral entry-level drug targets have been shown to be the starting point for the immunological vaccine, and their inhibitory profiles are discussed in this review for the entry-level drug targets. Replication of a virus begins with viral entry, and the process continues with infection, maintenance and dissemination. Among the proteins, non-structural and structural proteins are known for their function, and blocking those will result in inhibition, and thus the drug targets of JEV are discussed. This review discusses the JEV overview of drug targets, infection, and immunity to help with the future of JEV drug development.

Keywords

• Viral Infection
• Immunological drug targets
• Japanese encephalitis
• NS1 protein
• E protein
• Fusion inhibitors