Decoding the Human Kinases of Chikungunya Viral Proteins

<i>In silico</i> analysis revealed Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), Protein kinase C alpha (PRKCA), and Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (EEF2K) as major host kinases of specific phosphosites in CHIKV proteins. Putative kinases were also predicted for the reported phosphorylation sites in the CHIKV phosphoproteome. This study reveals that host kinases may phosphorylate substrates critical to CHIKV persistence and pathogenesis and emphasizes the potential of targeting host kinases as an adjunct to antiviral strategies. Our approach demonstrates the utility of kinase substrate specificity modeling to identify host kinases that can interact with viral proteins for their selection as drug-repurposable targets, particularly for variants and viruses without efficient/approved vaccines.