Molecular Cloning, Modelling and Docking with Curcumin of the Dengue Virus 2 NS5 Polymerase Domain

The NS5 protein form Dengue virus 2 (DENV2) has an ARN dependant ARN polymerase activity (RdRp) and it is an important target to develop new treatments against dengue. We had amplified by PCR and cloned in the plasmid pGEX-5X-1 the genetic sequence of the polymerase domain from NS5 of DENV2. This domain was expressed as a fusion protein with Glutathion-S transferase in E. coli BL21, and was detected by western blot. A structural model of the cloned the polymerase domain was built by homology modelling and it was refined by KOBAMIN, 3Drefine, FG-MD and ModRefiner; an in silico docking was done with curcumin using Autodock Vina, an interaction between the oxygen of the hydroxyl group of the curcumin and the Lys 92 located in the cavity B of the NS5 polymerase domain was seen. This interaction could explain the inhibitory effect of the curcumin in the Dengue 2 virus replication.