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CC BY 4.0 · Eur J Dent 2022; 16(03): 478-487
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1739444
Review Article

Utilizing the Potential of Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37 for Combating SARS-COV- 2 Viral Load in Saliva: an In Silico Analysis

Nireeksha Nireeksha 
1   Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE (deemed to be) University, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
,
Pavan Gollapalli 
2   Central Research Laboratory, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, NITTE (deemed to be) University, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
,
Sudhir Rama Varma 
3   Department of Clinical Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
4   Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
,
Mithra N. Hegde 
1   Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE (deemed to be) University, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
,
N. Suchetha Kumari 
5   Department of Biochemistry, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, NITTE (deemed to be) University, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Limiting the spread of virus during the recent pandemic outbreak was a major challenge. Viral loads in saliva, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were the major cause for droplet transmission and aerosols. Saliva being the major contributor for the presence of viral load is the major key factor; various mouthwashes and their combination were analyzed and utilized in health care centers to hamper the spread of virus and decrease viral load. The compositions of these mouthwashes to an extent affected the viral load and thereby transmission, but there is always a scope for other protocols which may provide better results. Here we evaluated the potential of antimicrobial peptide LL-37 in decreasing the viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through an in silico work and evidence from other studies. This narrative review highlighted a brief nonsystematic methodology to include the selected articles for discussion. Accessible electronic databases (Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and PubMed) were used to find studies that reported the salivary viral load of SARS-CoV-2 published between December 2019 and June 2021. The following keywords were utilized for brief searching of the databases: “saliva,” “viral load,” and “SARS-CoV-2.” Articles in English language, in vitro cell-line studies, ex vivo studies, and clinical trials explaining the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva and strategies to decrease viral load were included in this review. The search was complemented by manual searching of the reference lists of included articles and performing a citation search for any additional reviews. The antiviral potential of cationic host defense peptide LL-37 was evaluated using computational approaches providing in silico evidence. The analysis of docking studies and the display of positive interfacial hydrophobicity of LL-37 resulting in disruption of COVID-19 viral membrane elucidate the fact that LL-37 could be effective against all variants of SARS-CoV-2. Further experimental studies would be needed to confirm the binding of the receptor-binding domain with LL-37. The possibility of using it in many forms further to decrease the viral load by disrupting the viral membrane is seen.

Keywords

in silico analysis - LL-37 - antimicrobial peptide - SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - saliva

Authors' Contributions

N.N., G.P., and S.R.V.: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, resources, validation, writing original draft, review, and editing. M.N.H., and S.K.N.: resources, validation, writing original draft, review, and editing.




Publication History

Article published online:
22 December 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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