Developing an Antiviral Peptides Predictor with Generative Adversarial Network Data Augmentation

Motivation: New antiviral drugs are urgently needed because of emerging viral pathogens' increasing severity and drug resistance. Antiviral peptides (AVPs) have multiple antiviral properties and are appealing candidates for antiviral drug development. We developed a sequence-based binary classifier to identify whether an unknown short peptide has AVP activity. We collected AVP sequence data from six existing databases. We used a generative adversarial network to augment the number of AVPs in the positive training dataset and allow our deep convolutional neural network model to train on more data. Results: Our classifier achieved outstanding performance on the testing dataset compared with other state-of-the-art classifiers. We deployed our trained classifier on a user-friendly web server. Availability and implementation: AI4AVP is freely accessible at http://axp.iis.sinica.edu.tw/AI4AVP/

Synthetic peptides as promising antiviral molecules

Tweetable abstract Synthetic antiviral peptides are a promising option to overcome future viral diseases.

In Silico Structure-Based Design of Antiviral Peptides Targeting the Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Glycoprotein Gn

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is an emerging tick-borne bunyavirus in Asia that causes severe disease. Despite its clinical importance, treatment options for SFTSV infection remains limited. The SFTSV glycoprotein Gn plays a major role in mediating virus entry into host cells and is therefore a potential antiviral target. In this study, we employed an in silico structure-based strategy to design novel cyclic antiviral peptides that target the SFTSV glycoprotein Gn. Among the cyclic peptides, HKU-P1 potently neutralizes the SFTSV virion. Combinatorial treatment with HKU-P1 and the broad-spectrum viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor favipiravir exhibited synergistic antiviral effects in vitro. The in silico peptide design platform in this study may facilitate the generation of novel antiviral peptides for other emerging viruses.

Scorpion-Derived Antiviral Peptides with a Special Focus on Medically Important Viruses: An Update

The global burden of viral infection, especially the current pandemics of SARS-CoV-2, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis, is a very risky one. Additionally, HCV expresses the necessity for antiviral therapeutic elements. Venoms are known to contain an array of bioactive peptides that are commonly used in the treatment of various medical issues. Several peptides isolated from scorpion venom have recently been proven to possess an antiviral activity against several viral families. The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date overview of scorpion antiviral peptides and to discuss their modes of action and potential biomedical application against different viruses.

Double-Barrel Shotgun: Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria with Antiviral Properties Modified to Serve as Vaccines

Contrary to the general belief that the sole function of probiotics is to keep intestinal microbiota in a balanced state and stimulate the host’s immune response, several studies have shown that certain strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have direct and/or indirect antiviral properties. LAB can stimulate the innate antiviral immune defence system in their host, produce antiviral peptides, and release metabolites that prevent either viral replication or adhesion to cell surfaces. The SARS-CoV (COVID-19) pandemic shifted the world’s interest towards the development of vaccines against viral infections. It is hypothesised that the adherence of SARS-CoV spike proteins to the surface of Bifidobacterium breve could elicit an immune response in its host and trigger the production of antibodies. The question now remains as to whether probiotic LAB could be genetically modified to synthesize viral antigens and serve as vaccines—this concept and the role that LAB play in viral infection are explored in this review.