Recent Advances in Inhibitors of Flavivirus NS 2 BNS 3 Protease from Dengue Zika and West Nile Viruses
Zoonotic viruses can be transmitted to humans by hematophagous insects, such as mosquitoes, biting midges, ticks, sand flies and thus they are called arthropod borne viruses. Normally, flaviviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes from the Aedes genus, representing a significant health problem worldwide the development of small molecules targeting the NS2B NS3 protease is extremely important in order to identify new anti flaviviral agents, considering that it is an essential enzyme involved in the viral replication process. In this chapter, the flavivirus cycle of infection, morphological aspects, and the catalytic mechanism of proteolytic activity of NS2B NS3 protease will be discussed. Additionally, all recent advances in the drug development against Dengue (DENV) Zika (ZIKV) and West Nile (WNV) viruses will be deeply addressed. Furthermore, these will be classified into categories and individually analyzed. Abstract