Flaviviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses predominantly transmitted by the widely distributed Aedes mosquitoes in nature. As important human pathogens, the geographic reach of Flaviviruses and their threats to public health are increasing, but there is currently no approved specific drug for treatment. In recent years, the development of peptide antivirals has gained much attention. Natural host defense peptides which uniquely evolved to protect the hosts have been shown to have antiviral properties. In this study, we firstly collected the venom of the Alopecosa nagpag spider from Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province. A defense peptide named Av-LCTX-An1a (Antiviral-Lycotoxin-An1a) was identified from the spider venom, and its anti-dengue serotype-2 virus (DENV2) activity was verified in vitro. Moreover, a real-time fluorescence-based protease inhibition assay showed that An1a functions as a DENV2 NS2B-NS3 protease inhibitor. Furthermore, we also found that An1a restricts zika virus (ZIKV) infection by inhibiting the ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease. Together, our findings not only demonstrate that An1a might be a candidate for anti-flavivirus drug but also indicate that spider venom is a potential resource library rich in antiviral precursor molecules.
Keywords: Alopecosa nagpag; Flavivirus; NS2B–NS3 protease; Zika virus; dengue virus; host defense peptide.