  The predictions for the atmospheric neutrino flux at high energies strongly
depend on the contribution of prompt neutrinos, which are determined by the
production of charmed meson in the atmosphere at very forward rapidities. In
this paper we estimate the related cross sections taking into account the
presence of an intrinsic charm (IC) component in the proton wave function and
the QCD dynamics modified by the onset of saturation effects. The impact on the
predictions for the prompt neutrino flux is investigated assuming different
values for the probability to find the IC in the nucleon. Comparison with the
IceCube data is performed and conclusions are drawn.
