Targeting PI3Kγ Pathway for Treating Dengue virus Infection.

Dengue disease is a major problem worldwide, impacting millions of people annually with no specific approved treatments. The pathogenesis of dengue is a complex interplay of viral and host factors, driven in particular by an excessive inflammatory response triggered by the infection. While it has been observed that various viruses can modulate the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to aid replication and theunderlying mechanisms remainunclear.

Targeting the Annexin A1-FPR2/ALX pathway for host-directed therapy in dengue disease.

Host immune responses contribute to dengue's pathogenesis and severity, yet the possibility that failure in endogenous inflammation resolution pathways could characterise the disease has not been contemplated. The pro-resolving protein Annexin A1 (AnxA1) is known to counterbalance overexuberant inflammation and mast cell (MC) activation. We hypothesised that inadequate AnxA1 engagement underlies the cytokine storm and vascular pathologies associated with dengue disease.

Therapeutic treatment of Zika virus infection using a brain-penetrating antiviral peptide.

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus that is associated with neurodegenerative diseases, including Guillain-Barré syndrome and congenital Zika syndrome. As Zika virus targets the nervous system, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutic strategies that inhibit Zika virus infection in the brain. Here, we have engineered a brain-penetrating peptide that works against Zika virus and other mosquito-borne viruses.