“…3b demonstrates that in the trimeric state, at pH < 6.6, the electrostatic interactions between heterodimers tend to destabilize the surface of the DENV and the immature dimeric state becomes more energetically favorable. As we have shown in our previous work, 58 upon pH-induced 3C6D → 3C6R transition, the electrostatic energy of the outer shell is significantly reduced due to the relocation of negatively charged pr peptides, which are grouped into three peptides in the trimeric state and shift to almost equidistant positions in the dimeric structure (see Fig. 2a and c), and this drastically decreases the repulsive forces between them.…”