Antiviral Activity and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Hops Compounds against Oropouche Virus (Peribunyaviridae)

Abstract

The Oropouche virus (OROV) is a member of the family Peribunyaviridae (order Bunyavirales) and the cause of a dengue-like febrile illness transmitted mainly by biting midges and mosquitoes. In this study, we aimed to explore acylphloroglucinols and xanthohumol from hops (Humulus lupulus L.) as a promising alternative for antiviral therapies. The evaluation of the inhibitory potential of hops compounds on the viral cycle of OROV was performed through two complementary approaches. The first approach applies cell-based assay post-inoculation experiments to explore the inhibitory potential on the latest steps of the viral cycle, such as genome translation, replication, virion assembly, and virion release from the cells. The second part covers in silico methods evaluating the ability of those compounds to inhibit the activity of the endonuclease domain, which is essential for transcription, binding, and cleaving RNA. In conclusion, the beta acids showed strongest inhibitory potential in post-treatment assay (EC50 = 26.7 µg/mL). Xanthohumol had the highest affinity for OROV endonuclease followed by colupulone and cohumulone. This result contrasts with that observed for docking and MM/PBSA analysis, where cohumulone was found to have a higher affinity. Finally, among the three tested ligands, Lys92 and Arg33 exhibited the highest affinity with the protein.