Justin Jang Hann Chu

Dengue virus (DENV) is the cause of dengue fever, infecting 390 million people worldwide per year. It is transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes and could potentially develop severe symptoms. In spite of the rising social and economic impact inflicted by the disease on the global population, a conspicuous lack of efficacious therapeutics against DENV still persists. In this study, catechin, a natural polyphenol compound, was evaluated as a DENV infection inhibitor in vitro. Through time-course studies, catechin was shown to inhibit a post-entry stage of the DENV replication cycle. Further investigation revealed its role in affecting viral protein translation. Catechin inhibited the replication of all four DENV serotypes and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Together, these results demonstrate the ability of catechin to inhibit DENV replication, hinting at its potential to be used as a starting scaffold for further development of antivirals against DENV infection.