{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T02:57:06Z","timestamp":1760151426356,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":91,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,17]],"date-time":"2022-03-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1647475200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Shigella species account for the second-leading cause of deaths due to diarrheal diseases among children of less than 5 years of age. The emergence of multi-drug-resistant Shigella isolates and the lack of availability of Shigella vaccines have led to the pertinence in the efforts made for the development of new therapeutic strategies against shigellosis. Consequently, designing small-interfering RNA (siRNA) candidates against such infectious agents represents a novel approach to propose new therapeutic candidates to curb the rampant rise of anti-microbial resistance in such pathogens. In this study, we analyzed 264 conserved sequences from 15 different conserved virulence genes of Shigella sp., through extensive rational validation using a plethora of first-generation and second-generation computational algorithms for siRNA designing. Fifty-eight siRNA candidates were obtained by using the first-generation algorithms, out of which only 38 siRNA candidates complied with the second-generation rules of siRNA designing. Further computational validation showed that 16 siRNA candidates were found to have a substantial functional efficiency, out of which 11 siRNA candidates were found to be non-immunogenic. Finally, three siRNA candidates exhibited a sterically feasible three-dimensional structure as exhibited by parameters of nucleic acid geometry such as: the probability of wrong sugar puckers, bad backbone confirmations, bad bonds, and bad angles being within the accepted threshold for stable tertiary structure. Although the findings of our study require further wet-lab validation and optimization for therapeutic use in the treatment of shigellosis, the computationally validated siRNA candidates are expected to suppress the expression of the virulence genes, namely: IpgD (siRNA 9) and OspB (siRNA 15 and siRNA 17) and thus act as a prospective tool in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. However, the findings of our study require further wet-lab validation and optimization for regular therapeutic use for treatment of shigellosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27061936","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,20]],"date-time":"2022-03-20T21:34:27Z","timestamp":1647812067000},"page":"1936","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Comprehensive Computational Investigation into the Conserved Virulent Proteins of Shigella species Unveils Potential Small-Interfering RNA Candidates as a New Therapeutic Strategy against Shigellosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Parag","family":"Palit","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farhana Tasnim","family":"Chowdhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1495-7690","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Namrata","family":"Baruah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8163-0156","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bonoshree","family":"Sarkar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5283-2517","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sadia Noor","family":"Mou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mehnaz","family":"Kamal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Towfida Jahan","family":"Siddiqua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9431-358X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zannatun","family":"Noor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tahmeed","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(17)30276-1","article-title":"Estimates of global, regional, and national morbidity, mortality, and aetiologies of diarrhoeal diseases: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015","volume":"17","author":"Troeger","year":"2017","journal-title":"Lancet Infect. 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