Dengue Fever: Causes, Complications, and Vaccine Strategies

Table 1

Functions of DENV proteins.

Protein	Function
Structural
Capsid (C)	Binds and stabilizes viral RNA
Premembrane/membrane (prM/M)	(i) Pr peptide functions as cap that protects the fusion peptide on E, thus preventing premature fusion; (ii) M forms ion channel
Envelope (E)	(i) Recognition and binding to the host cell; (ii) Involved in uncoating of virus by enabling fusion of viral and endosomal membranes
Nonstructural (NS)
NS1	(i) Viral RNA replication
	(ii) Viral defense through inhibition of complement activation
NS2A	Viral replication and assembly
NS2B	NS3 protease cofactor
NS3	(i) Serine protease-cleaves viral polyprotein
	(ii) RNA helicase and RTPase/NTPase-viral RNA replication; (iii) Induction of apoptosis in infected cells
NS4A	Induces membrane alterations and autophagy to enhance virus replication
NS4B	(i) Interacts with NS3-viral replication
	(ii) Blocks IFN-α/β-induced signal transduction and helps virus to escape host’s innate immune response
NS5	(i) Methyl transferase domain
	(ii) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase