ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated extraordinary ability to evade antibody immunity by antigenic drift. Small molecule drugs may provide effective therapy while being part of a solution to circumvent SARS-CoV-2 immune escape. In this study we report an alpha-ketoamide based peptidomimetic inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), RAY1216. Enzyme inhibition kinetic analysis established that RAY1216 is a slow-tight inhibitor with a Ki of 8.6 nM; RAY1216 has a drug-target residence time of 104 min compared to 9 min of PF-07321332 (nirmatrelvir), the antiviral component in Paxlovid, suggesting that RAY1216 is approximately 12 times slower to dissociate from the protease-inhibitor complex compared to PF-07321332. Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro:RAY1216 complex demonstrates that RAY1216 is covalently attached to the catalytic Cys145 through the alpha-ketoamide warhead; more extensive interactions are identified between bound RAY1216 and Mpro active site compared to PF-07321332, consistent with a more stable acyl-enzyme inhibition complex for RAY1216. In cell culture and human ACE2 transgenic mouse models, RAY1216 demonstrates comparable antiviral activities towards different SARS-CoV-2 virus variants compared to PF-07321332. Improvement in pharmacokinetics has been observed for RAY1216 over PF-07321332 in various animal models, which may allow RAY1216 to be used without ritonavir. RAY1216 is currently undergoing phase III clinical trials (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05620160) to test real-world therapeutic efficacy against COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
Population antibody response is believed to be important in selection of new variant viruses. We identified that SARS-CoV-2 infections elicit a population immune response mediated by a lineage of VH1-69 germline antibodies. The representative antibody R1-32 targets a novel semi-cryptic epitope defining a new class of RBD targeting antibodies. Binding to this non-ACE2 competing epitope leading to spike destruction impairing virus entry. Based on epitope location, neutralization mechanism and analysis of antibody binding to spike variants we propose that recurrent substitutions at 452 and 490 are associated with immune evasion of this population antibody response. These substitutions, including L452R found in the Delta variant, disrupt interaction mediated by the VH1-69 specific hydrophobic HCDR2 to impair antibody-antigen association allowing variants to escape. Lacking 452/490 substitutions, the Omicron variant is sensitive to this class of antibodies. Our results provide new insights into SARS-CoV-2 variant genesis and immune evasion.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
RNA replication and transcription machinery is an important drug target for fighting against coronavirus. Non-structure protein nsp8 was proposed harboring primase activity. However, the RNA primer synthesis mechanism of nsp8 is still largely unknown. Here, we purified dimer and tetramer forms of SARS-CoV-2 nsp8. Combined with DLS, SANS and thermo-stability analysis, we found that both dimer and tetramer become loosened and destabilized with decreasing salt concentration, and the dimer form is more stable than the tetramer form. Further investigation showed that nsp8 dimer and tetramer can undergo phase separation but exhibit different phase separation behaviors. nsp8 dimer can form liquid-like droplets in the buffer with a low concentration of NaCl; phase separation of nsp8 tetramer depends on the assistance of RNA. Our findings on different phase separation behaviors of nsp8 dimer and tetramer could provide novel insight into the primer synthesis mechanism in coronavirus and facilitate developing novel therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.