ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which escalated into a global pandemic in early 2020, accounting for more than 400 million infections and more than 6 million confirmed deaths worldwide (as of 2022/03/10). The SARS-CoV-2 mechanism of transmission and infection involves the binding of the virus to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) host receptor through the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein. The RBD is a privileged target of our immune system and antiviral therapies. Throughout last year multiple vaccines and new therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed. However, their effectiveness is challenged by the continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2, accompanying the origin and spread of new variants of concern (VOC): Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and recently, Omicron. Among the reported mutations in the VOC S proteins, several are specific to the RBD, which are associated with higher transmissibility or the ability to escape the immune response of previously infected patients. (Previously published in: Greaney, A.J. et al. (2021) Cell Host Microbe 29,44- 57). In late 2021, the newly SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC raised considerable global concern due to the presence of more than 30 mutations in the S protein, 15 of which occur in the RBD (Previously published in: Mannar D et al. (2022) Science 375,760-764). Here we investigated the impact of the VOC RBD mutations on its interaction with ACE2, with a major focus on the Omicron RBD, by performing microsecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of this complex. Our analysis of the binding and structural dynamics of these mutations provided a detailed characterization of the binding mode between the VOC RBDs and the receptor. This allowed us to understand the role of key residues in the VOC RBD-ACE2 interface and the effect of specific substitutions on the binding affinity via the establishment of new inter-protein contacts.