Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus genotype 3a(HCV G3a)is highly prevalent in Pakistan.Due to the elevated cost of available Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs against HCV,medicinal natural products of potent antiviral activity should be screened for the cost-effective treatment of the disease.Furthermore,from natural products,active compounds against vital HCV proteins like non-structural protein 3(NS3)protease could be identified to prevent viral proliferation in the host.AIM To develop cost-effective HCV genotype 3a NS3 protease inhibitors from citrus fruit extracts.METHODS Full-length NS3 without co-factor non-structural protein 4A(NS4A)and codon optimized NS3 protease in fusion with NS4A were expressed in Escherichia coli.The expressed protein was purified by metal ion affinity chromatography and gel filtration.Citrus fruit extracts were screened using fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET)assay against the protease and polyphenols were identified as potential inhibitors using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry(MS)/MS technique.Among different polyphenols,highly potent compounds were screened using molecular modeling approaches and consequently the most active compound was further evaluated against HCV NS4A-NS3 protease domain using FRET assay.RESULTS NS4A fused with NS3 protease domain gene was overexpressed and the purified protein yield was high in comparison to the lower yield of the full-length NS3 protein.Furthermore,in enzyme kinetic studies,NS4A fused with NS3 protease proved to be functionally active compared to full-length NS3.So it was concluded that co-factor NS4A fusion is essential for the purification of functionally active protease.FRET assay was developed and validated by the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)values of commercially available inhibitors.Screening of citrus fruit extracts against the native purified fused NS4A-NS3 protease domain showed that the grapefruit mesocarp extract exhibits the highest percentage inhibition 91%of protease activity.Among the compounds identified by LCMS analysis,hesperidin showed strong binding affinity with the protease catalytic triad having S-score value of-10.98.CONCLUSION Fused NS4A-NS3 protease is functionally more active,which is effectively inhibited by hesperidin from the grapefruit mesocarp extract with an IC50 value of 23.32μmol/L.

Dengue virus non-structural 1 protein interacts with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H in human monocytic cells

Objective: To study protein-protein interaction between heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H(hn RNP H) and Dengue virus(DENV) proteins. Methods: DENV proteins were screened against the host hn RNP H protein, in order to identify the host-viral protein-protein interactions in DENV infected THP-1 cells by co-immunoprecipitation. The co-localization of the interacting proteins was further confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Results: The host protein hn RNP H was found to interact with DENV nonstructural 1 protein and help the virus to multiply in the cell. Conclusions: The non-structural 1 glycoprotein is a key modulator of host immune response and is also involved in viral replication. Therefore, disruption of this key interaction between hn RNP H and DENV nonstructural 1 could be an important therapeutic strategy for management of DENV infection.

Cleft analysis of Zika virus non-structural protein 1

The non-structural protein 1 is an important molecule of the viruses in flavivirus group including to Zika virus. Recently, the NS1 of Zika virus was discovered. There is still no complete information of the molecular interaction of NS1 of Zika virus which can be the clue for explanation for its pathogenesis and further drug search. Here the authors report the cleft analysis of NS1 of Zika virus and the result can be useful for future development of good diagnostic tool and antiviral drug finding for management of Zika virus.

Expression and Activity Analysis of Non-Structural Protein 2 (NS2) of Bombyx mori Densovirus Zhenjiang Strain

The gene of the non-structure protein 2 （NS2） was cloned by PCR from the genome ofBombyx mori densovirus Zhenjiang strain （BmDNV-Z）, inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a to construct recombinant plasmid pET28a-NS2 and then expressed in bacteria Escherichia coli BL21 （DE3）. The expressed recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Then, the recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA column, renatured and tested for enzyme activities. The purified NS2 protein exhibited a helicase activity unwinding double-stranded DNA substrates into single-strand primers, and higher unwinding activity to polarity substrate. Similarly, the purified NS2 protein possessed an ATPase activity and its enzyme activity was 0.276 μmol gg^-1 h^-1 in this study. The results indicated that the non- structure protein which encoded by the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 possesses the biological activities of helicase and ATPase, and the helicase prefers to polarity substrates. Based on these results, it is speculated that the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 plays an important role in the viral DNA replication.

Potential effect of hepatitis C Virus non-structural protein 4B on liver carcinogenesis

Objective：To investigate the effect of hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 4B（HCV NS4B） on c-Myc, P53, ras gene expression＂ and apoptosis in hepatic cells and study the possible role that NS4B played in the carcinogenesis of heparoma. Methods： The recombinant plasmid（PCXN2-NS4B, PCXN2-P53） and the empty, vector were transfected or co-transfected into Chang liver cells with liposome. Screening was performed with G418. Plasmid mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The pro rein expressions of c-Myc and ras genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry. The expressions of wild-type P53 （wtp53） gene were detected by in situ hybridization. TUNEL（flow cytometry） was used for assessing the rate of apoptosis. Results：No expression of c-Myc gene was found in PCXN2 group. The expression of c-Myc gene in NS4B group was 21.3% ＋ 1.2%. The ex pression of ras gene in PCXN2 group was lower than that in NS4B group. Compared with PCXN2 group, the expression of P53 mRNA was not promoted or inhibited in NS4B group. But the expression of P53 mRNA in NS4B-P53 group was lower than that in P53 group. In PCXN2, NS4B, P53 and NS4B-P53 group, the rates of apoptosis were 17.02% ± 1.24%, 11.94% ± 2.24%, 25.84% ± 3.49% and 18.34% ± 1.55% respectively. Conclusion ：HCV NS4B induces the expression of c-Myc and ras gene. HCV NS4B may play a role in the inhibition of cell death through P53-dependent manner. Results from this study suggested that HCV NS4B might contribute to the viral carcinogenesis.

Retraction Note:Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and mass spectrometry

Retraction note:Khan M,Rauf W,Habib F,Rahman M,Iqbal M.Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and mass spectrometry.World J Hepatol 2020;12(11):976-992 PMID:33312423 DOI:10.4254/wjh.v12.i11.976.The online version of the original article can be found at https://www.wjgnet.com/1948-5182/full/v12/i11/976.htm.

Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1a Non-Structural Proteins by Small Interference RNA in Human Hepatoma Cell Lines

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated liver diseases are still challenging and represent a significant health care burden around the world. Although, the treatment strategies have been improved by the development of novel direct-acting antivirals, but such therapeutic options are still expensive and beyond the financial range of the most infected individuals in developing or even in resource replete countries. It demands an urgent need to search novel and improved alternate treatment strategies to treat the infection. The present study was aimed to develop an in vitro stable cell culture system, persistently expressing HCV genotype 1a non-structural genes and to characterize the inhibitory effects of synthetic siRNAs (short interference RNA) directed against the most conserved regions of nonstructural genes in an in vitro cell culture model. The continuous expression of nonstructural genes for more than 30 days post transfection was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis in stable human hepatoma cell line (Huh-7). The gene expression studies revealed significantly reduced gene expression of HCV nonstructural genes (i.e., NS2, NS4A and NS5A) both at mRNA and protein levels when treated against genome specific synthetic siRNAs in stable cell lines (51%, 47% and 54% respectively, p < 0.05). Similarly, a vivid decrease in HCV viral titer was exhibited by synthetic siRNAs in an in vitro viral replicate cell culture model (58%, 48% and 50%, respectively, p < 0.05) determined by quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR). Our data indicate that siRNA mediated gene silencing may be considered a promising alternate treatment strategy against HCV in combination with other effective therapeutic regimens in future.

Critical role of cytochrome c1 and its cleavage in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus nonstructural protein 4-induced cell apoptosis via interaction with nsp4

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.（PRRSV） actively induces cell apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo, which can contribute critically to viral pathogenesis. Previous studies have shown that the PRRSV nonstructural protein 4 （nsp4） is an important mediator of this process, but the underlying molecular details remain poorly understood. In this study, we found that the PRRSV nsp4 interacted with the mitochondrial inner membrane protein cytochrome cl （cyto.cl） and induced its proteolytic cleavage. Interestingly, the cleaved N-terminal fragment of cyto.cl was found to exert apoptotic activity, which could cause mitochondrial fragmentation, resulting in apoptotic cell death. And RNA interference （RNAi） silencing experiments further confirmed the crucial role which cyto.cl played in nsp4- and PRRSV-induced cell apoptosis. Thus, our data provide an important piece of mechanistic clues for PRRSV-induced cell apoptosis and also elucidate a novel mechanism for the 3C-like proteases in this finding.

The Construction of Marc-145 Cell Lines Expressing Nsp2 Gene of PRRSV and the Effects of Nsp2 Protein on PRRSV Replication

[Objective]The study aimed to investigate the effects of Nsp2 protein on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus （ PRRSV） replication. [Method]Through in vitro cloning,the Nsp2 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ and attenuated TJM were amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the plasmid pEGFP-N1,which containing enhanced green fluorescent protein expression box. The constructed plasmids pEGFP-TJ Nsp2 and pEGFP-TJM Nsp2 were transfected into Marc-145 cells and screened by G418. Anti-G418 Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells were obtained,and the expression of Nsp2 protein in anti-G418 Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells was proved by PCR and RT- PCR. The Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells were infected by PRRSV,and TCID 50 was determined. [Result]The cells expressing Nsp2 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ and attenuated TJM,Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2,were stable. PRRSV replication was fast in early stage on these cells. That is to say,Nsp2 protein played a positive role in early phase of PRRSV proliferation,and the effect of Nsp2 protein of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ was more obvious. [Conclusion]The construction of Marc-145-Nsp2 cell lines provided data for the further discuss of PRRSV replication mechanism.

Nuclear localization of Sindbis virus nonstructural protein nsP2

In early infection, approximately 10% of nonstruc-tural protein nsP2 of Sindbis virus was transported into the nuclei of virus-infected BHK-21 cells. Nuclear nsP2 was dominantly associated with nuclear matrix. During the course of infection, increasing amounts of nsP2 accumulated in the nuclear fraction. A prominent accumulation of nuclear nsP2 occurred early in infection, from 1 h to 3 h postinfection. Meanwhile, a weak NTPase activity was found to be associated with the immunocomplexed nsP2. Nuclear localization of nsP2 and its possible role were discussed in relation to the inhibition of host macro-molecular synthesis.

The cloning of non-structural-1 (NS1) gene of H9N2 subtype of avian influenza virus in pGEX-4T-1 and pMAL-c2X plasmids and expression in <i>Escherichia coli</i>DH5<i>α</i>strain

Avian influenza is a viral contagious disease that affects poultry industry and human health. Vaccination has been considered as a preventive tool in the eradication of AI, but it causes some limitations including trade embargoes and interfering with serologic surveillance in differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA strategy). Several distinct DIVA strategies have been presented to conquer these limitations. In this study, the open reading frame of NS1 gene of a H9N2 subtype of AI virus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. After extraction and purification of NS1 gene from agarose gel, it was inserted into two different pGEX-4T-1 and pMAL-c2X plasmids and transferred in DH5α strain of Escherichia coli by using electroporation procedure. The E. coli colonies possessing recombinant NS1 gene were screened using PCR, restriction mapping and sequencing analysis. The expressed rNS1 protein was purified using affinity chromatography based on MBP (pMAL- c2X) and GST (pGEX-4T-1). The MBP-NS1 and GST- NS1 proteins on SDS-PAGE had bands with molecular weight of 68 and 52 kDa respectively. Western blotting with MBP-NS1 protein showed positive reaction using antisera obtained from chickens challenged with a H9N2 subtype strain. But, the most sera prepared from H9N2 vaccinated chickens were negative in WB. These findings indicated that the MBP-rNS1 protein of 26 kDa expressed by pMAL-c2X plasmid can be used in a DIVA for differentiation of AI infected and vaccinated chickens.

香蕉束顶病毒海口分离物核穿梭蛋白(NSP)的纯化及抗血清制备

本研究以本实验室保存的含重组载体pDEST17-NSP的原核表达菌株E.coli BL21(DE3)为材料,于25℃、0.1mmol/L IPTG条件下诱导4h,集菌后超声波破碎,获得以包涵体形式表达的约20kD的融合蛋白。实验结果表明,将沉淀的融合蛋白溶于含6mol/L尿素的Binding Buffer中,再经Ni2+-NTA亲和层析纯化后,可获得高纯度的融合蛋白。将纯化融合蛋白经12%SDS-PAGE电泳,切胶回收目的带,液氮研磨并按1:1(W/V)混合佐剂,4次免疫家兔,获得BBTV病毒核穿梭蛋白的特异性抗血清。以融合蛋白作抗原,间接ELISA法测定其抗血清效价为1:5000。田间检测样品的最佳抗血清工作浓度为1:500。Western Blot鉴定结果表明抗血清能与目的蛋白特异性结合。本研究的结果将为下一步NSP基因转录调控和蛋白功能研究奠定一定基础。

不同能量蛋白水平日粮中添加磷脂和NSP酶制剂对肉仔鸡相关生理机能的影响

为了研究磷脂和NSP酶制剂对肉仔鸡消化力的影响,在不同能量蛋白日粮中分别添加磷脂、NSP酶制剂以及二者复合添加。结果表明:磷脂有提高21 d肉仔鸡的肝脏和胰腺器官指数的趋势;3个处理组的养分表观消化率总体上都表现一定降低的趋势;各组空肠消化酶活性多表现一定升高;复合添组提高了21 d空肠黏膜二糖酶活性。

非淀粉多糖(NSP)酶与植酸酶在肉仔鸡玉米-豆粕型日粮中互作效应的研究

试验选择一日龄的AA+肉仔鸡384只,按体重相近、性别各半的原则,随机分成8组,每组设6个重复,每个重复12只。设计两组4×2的全因子试验,NSP酶(0、50、100、150 mg/kg)和植酸酶(0、100 mg/kg)。试验结果表明,在肉鸡玉米-豆粕型日粮中添加NSP酶、植酸酶,能显著提高饲料转化率,增加日增重;饲粮中添加植酸酶可显著提高肉鸡对钙、磷、灰分的利用,NSP酶不影响日粮中的钙、磷、灰分的利用率;饲粮中添加NSP酶、植酸酶,提高了粗蛋白利用率,但差异不显著(P>0.05);植酸酶显著提高了赖氨酸、苏氨酸、缬氨酸、亮氨酸、酪氨酸、苯丙氨酸、组氨酸的利用率;在肉鸡日粮中添加NSP酶、植酸酶显著提高肉鸡对饲粮的表观代谢能的利用率,并且NSP酶和植酸酶对玉米-豆粕型的饲粮能量利用呈现协同作用。

Potential treatment with Chinese and Western medicine targeting NSP14 of SARS-CoV-2

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)is a serious global health threat.This raises an urgent need for the development of effective drugs against the deadly disease.SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 14(NSP14)carrying RNA cap guanine N7-methyltransferase and 30-50 exoribonuclease activities could be a potential drug target for intervention.NSP14 of SARS-CoV-2 shares 98.7%of similarity with the one(PDB 5NFY)of acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)by ClustalW.Then,the SARS-CoV-2 NSP14 structures were modelled by Modeller 9.18 using SARS NSP14(PDB 5NFY)as template for virtual screening.Based on the docking score from AutoDock Vina1.1.2,18 small molecule drugs were selected for further evaluation.Based on the 5 ns MD simulation trajectory,binding free energy(DG)was calculated by MM/GBSA method.The calculated binding free energies of Saquinavir,Hypericin,Baicalein and Bromocriptine for the N-terminus of the homology model wereà37.2711±3.2160,à30.1746±3.1914,à23.8953±4.4800,andà34.1350±4.3683 kcal/mol,respectively,while the calculated binding free energies wereà60.2757±4.7708,à30.9955±2.9975,à46.3099±3.5689,andà59.8104±3.5389 kcal/mol,respectively,when binding to the C-terminus.Thus,the compounds including Saquinavir,Hypericin,Baicalein and Bromocriptine could bind to the N-terminus and C-terminus of the homology model of the SARS-CoV-2 NSP14,providing a candidate drug against SARS-CoV-2 for further study.

Identification of the strain-specifically truncated nonstructural protein 10 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in infected cells

The nonstructural protein 10（nsp10） of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus（PRRSV） encodes for helicase which plays a vital role in viral replication. In the present study, a truncated form of nsp10, termed nsp10 a, was found in PRRSV-infected cells and the production of nsp10 a was strain-specific. Mass spectrometric analysis and deletion mutagenesis indicated that nsp10 a may be short of about 70 amino acids in the N terminus of nsp10. Further studies by rescuing recombinant viruses showed that the Glu-69 in nsp10 was the key amino acid for nsp10 a production. Finally, we demonstrated that nsp10 a exerted little influence on the growth kinetics of PRRSV in vitro.

Construction and Genetic Analysis of Murine Hepatitis Virus Strain A59 Nsp16 Temperature Sensitive Mutant and the Revertant Virus

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are generally associated with respiratory and enteric infections and have long been recognized as important pathogens of livestock and companion animals. Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a widely studied model system for Coronavirus replication and pathogenesis. In this study,we created a MHV-A59 temperature sensitive (ts) mutant Wu"-ts18(cd) using the recombinant vaccinia reverse genetics system. Virus replication assay in 17C1-1 cells showed the plaque phenotype and replication characterization of constructed Wu"-ts18(cd) were indistinguishable from the reported ts mutant Wu"-ts18. Then we cultured the ts mutant Wu"-ts18(cd) at non-permissive temperature 39.5°C,which "forced" the ts recombinant virus to use second-site mutation to revert from a ts to a non-ts phenotype. Sequence analysis showed most of the revertants had the same single amino acid mutation at Nsp16 position 43. The single amino acid mutation at Nsp16 position 76 or position 130 could also revert the ts mutant Wu"-ts18 (cd) to non-ts phenotype,an additional independent mutation in Nsp13 position 115 played an important role on plaque size. The results provided us with genetic information on the functional determinants of Nsp16. This allowed us to build up a more reasonable model of CoVs replication-transcription complex.

Advances of Studies on the Viral Proteins of PRRSV

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome( PRRS) is one of viral diseases with severe reproductive obstacle of pregnant sows and respiratory tract symptoms and higher mortality of piglets as characteristics,which is caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus( PRRSV). PRRS has brought great threats to swine industry in the world. The advances of studies on the viral proteins of PRRSV were reviewed from the genome,non-structural proteins and structural proteins of PRRSV.

Variation analysis of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus putative non-structural protein 2 gene and construction of three-dimensional model

Background The rapid transmission and high mortality rate made severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) a global threat for which no efficacious therapy is available now. Without sufficient knowledge about the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), it is impossible to define the candidate for the anti-SARS targets. The putative non-structural protein 2 (nsp2) (3CL pro , following the nomenclature by Gao et al, also known as nsp5 in Snidjer et al) of SARS-CoV plays an important role in viral transcription and replication, and is an attractive target for anti-SARS drug development, so we carried on this study to have an insight into putative polymerase nsp2 of SARS-CoV Guangdong (GD) strain. Methods The SARS-CoV strain was isolated from a SARS patient in Guangdong, China, and cultured in Vero E6 cells. The nsp2 gene was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pCI-neo (pCI-neo/nsp2). Then the recombinant eukaryotic expression vector pCI-neo/nsp2 was transfected into COS-7 cells using lipofectin reagent to express the nsp2 protein. The expressive protein of SARS-CoV nsp2 was analyzed by 7% sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The nucleotide sequence and protein sequence of GD nsp2 were compared with that of other SARS-CoV strains by nucleotide-nucleotide basic local alignment search tool (BLASTN) and protein-protein basic local alignment search tool (BLASTP) to investigate its variance trend during the transmission. The secondary structure of GD strain and that of other strains were predicted by Garnier-Osguthorpe-Robson (GOR) Secondary Structure Prediction. Three-dimensional-PSSM Protein Fold Recognition (Threading) Server was employed to construct the three-dimensional model of the nsp2 protein.Results The putative polymerase nsp2 gene of GD strain was amplified by RT-PCR. The eukaryotic expression vector (pCI-neo/nsp2) was constructed and expressed the protein in COS-7 cells successfully. The result of sequencing and sequence comparison with other SARS-CoV strains showed that nsp2 gene was relatively conservative during the transmission and total five base sites mutated in about 100 strains investigated, three of which in the early and middle phases caused synonymous mutation, and another two base sites variation in the late phase resulted in the amino acid substitutions and secondary structure changes. The three-dimensional structure of the nsp2 protein was successfully constructed. Conclusions The results suggest that polymerase nsp2 is relatively stable during the phase of epidemic. The amino acid and secondary structure change may be important for viral infection. The fact that majority of single nucleotide variations (SNVs) are predicted to cause synonymous, as well as the result of low mutation rate of nsp2 gene in the epidemic variations, indicates that the nsp2 is conservative and could be a target for anti-SARS drugs. The three-dimensional structure result indicates that the nsp2 protein of GD strain is high homologous with 3CL pro of SARS-CoV urbani strain, 3CL pro of transmissible gastroenteritis virus and 3CL pro of human coronavirus 229E strain, which further suggests that nsp2 protein of GD strain possesses the activity of 3CL pro .

Structural Basis for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:Phytochemical Interaction with Non-Structural Protein 2 Protease-A Reverse Engineering Strategy

Objective： To understand the druggability of the bioactive compounds from traditional herbal formulations ＂Nilavembu Kudineer＂ and ＂Swasthya Raksha Amruta Peya＂ to heal chikungunya virus （CHIKV） infection. Methods： The efficiency of twenty novel chemical entities from ＂Nilavembu Kudineer＂ and ＂Swasthya Raksha Amruta Peya＂ to inhibit CHIKV infection in silico were evaluated. Ligands were prepared using Ligprep module of Schr0dinger. Active site was identified using SiteMap program. Grid box was generated using receptor grid generation wizard. Molecular docking was carried out using Grid Based Ligand Docking with Energetics （GLIDE） program. Results： Molecular docking studies showed that among twenty compounds, andrographoside, deoxyandrographoside, neoandrographolide, 14-deoxy-11-oxoandrographolide, butoxone and oleanolic acid showed GLIDE extra precision （XP） score of-9.10,-8.72, -8.25,-7.38,-7.28 and -7.01, respectively which were greater than or comparable with chloroquine （reference compound） XP score （-7.08） and were found to interact with the key residues GLLI 1043, LYS 1045, GLY 1176, LEU 1203, HIS 1222 and LYS 1239 which were characteristic functional unit crucial for replication of CHIKV. Conclusion： The binding affinity and the binding mode of chemical entities taken from herbal formulations with non-structural protein 2 protease were understood and our study provided a novel strategy in the development and design of drugs for CHIKV infection.