Homology modeling and docking studies of VP24 protein of Ebola virus with an antiviral drug and its derivatives

An outburst of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF) in recent years is a challenge towards health preparedness of India. Oseltamivir is the only frontline drug used in the treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. In order to enhance preparedness again Ebola virus induced fever it is required to identify more derivatives with proper target identification. The viral protein 24 (VP24) helps in formation of nucleocapsids and plays an important role in virulence. Therefore, in this study, a model of VP24 protein of Ebola virus was generated by homology modeling using the amino acid sequence from NCBI (GenBank: ALG02124.1). The protein PDB validation was done by Ramachandran Plot. The validated PDB of the VP24 protein was used for docking with Oseltamivir related derivatives (zinc database). Twenty new inhibitors identified based on better docking score and proposed for further in vitro and in vivo studies.