In silico identification of a Lactobacillus plantarum metabolic product that potentially inhibits three essential human immunodeficiency virus-2 enzymes

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) infection may not spread as fast as HIV-1 because it is endemic, however HIV-2 is more dangerous because it has been identified to have a higher mutation rate and is resistant to antiretrovirals that have been found, the design of HIV-2 inhibitor candidates in protease, integrase, and reverse transcriptase is important for handling viral infections. This study uses natural products from probiotics, namely Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) consisting of Plantaricin D, Plantaricin BN, Plantaricin JLA-9, Plantaricin W because they are identified to inhibit viral replication, modulate immune responses in viral infections, and handle resistance. Screening of natural products from L. plantarum as HIV-2 antiviral candidates using in silico methods consisting of sample preparation through biological databases, identification of ligand binding to targets by docking simulation, molecular interaction analysis, and visualization of three-dimensional structures, the fluctuation stability and translocation probability. Plantaricin JLA-9 is a peptide from L. plantarum natural product can be a good candidate for protease, reverse transcriptase, and integrase inhibitors in HIV-2. Plantaricin JLA-9 can inhibit three essential enzymes, the peptide is a triple inhibitor.