IIT Mandi researchers finds target protein for antimalarial drug against Zika Virus

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have found the target protein for action of antimalarial drug against Zika Virus (ZIKAV). A team led by Rajanish Giri, assistant professor of Biotechnology at IIT Mandi, is working on this subject.

Following an earlier finding by Indira Mysorekar from Washington University, USA, that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug commonly prescribed for treating malaria, reduces ZIKV transmission from mother to foetus, Giri’s lab has identified the target viral protein on which HCQ acts. Giri has collaborated with professor Mysorekar and professor Sanjeev Kumar Singh from Alagappa University, Tamil Nadu, on this work. The findings from the work of the trio has recently been published in ACS Omega, an Open Access journal of the American Chemical Society.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne emerging global pathogen belonging to the flavivirus genus. “While Mysorekar’s group originally selected HCQ for its ability to inhibit autophagy (natural, regulated mechanism of the cell that disassembles unnecessary), its mechanism of action against ZIKV target protein was not known”, explains Giri. “Our work has identified a viral protein on which HCQ acts”.