Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors reduce dengue virus production by affecting the initial steps of virion morphogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum.

We report that endoplasmic reticulum alpha-glucosidase inhibitors have antiviral effects on dengue (DEN) virus. We found that glucosidase inhibition strongly affects productive folding pathways of the envelope glycoproteins prM (the intracellular glycosylated precursor of M [membrane protein]) and E (envelope protein): the proper folding of prM bearing unprocessed N-linked oligosaccharide is inefficient, and this causes delayed formation of prME heterodimer. The complexes formed between incompletely folded prM and E appear to be unstable, leading to a nonproductive pathway. Inhibition of alpha-glucosidase-mediated N-linked oligosaccharide trimming may thus prevent the assembly of DEN virus by affecting the early stages of envelope glycoprotein processing.