Drug Repurposing Commonly Against Dengue Virus Capsid and SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid: An in Silico Approach

In the middle of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, dengue virus (DENV) is giving a silent warning as the season approaches nearer. There is no specific antiviral against DENV for use in the clinics. Thus, considering these facts we can potentially face both these viruses together increasing the clinical burden. The search for anti-viral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 is in full swing and repurposing of already ‘in-use’ drugs against other diseases or COVID-19 has drawn significant attention. Earlier we had reported few FDA approved anti-viral and anti-microbial drugs that could be tested against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid assembly. We explored the possibility of interactions of these shortlisted drugs against SARS-CoV2 with Dengue virus proteins. Here we report three FDA approved drugs (Daclatasvir, Letermovir and Rifampicin) that were seen to be docking onto the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid RNA binding domain, also docking strongly with DENV capsid protein on the RNA binding site and/or the capsid’s membrane fusion domain. Thus, the present study proposes these three drugs as common antiviral candidates against both SARS-CoV-2 and DENV.