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1.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(33): e2208144119, 2022 08 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1984601

ABSTRACT

Pattern recognition molecules (PRMs) form an important part of innate immunity, where they facilitate the response to infections and damage by triggering processes such as inflammation. The pentraxin family of soluble PRMs comprises long and short pentraxins, with the former containing unique N-terminal regions unrelated to other proteins or each other. No complete high-resolution structural information exists about long pentraxins, unlike the short pentraxins, where there is an abundance of both X-ray and cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM)-derived structures. This study presents a high-resolution structure of the prototypical long pentraxin, PTX3. Cryo-EM yielded a 2.5-Å map of the C-terminal pentraxin domains that revealed a radically different quaternary structure compared to other pentraxins, comprising a glycosylated D4 symmetrical octameric complex stabilized by an extensive disulfide network. The cryo-EM map indicated α-helices that extended N terminal of the pentraxin domains that were not fully resolved. AlphaFold was used to predict the remaining N-terminal structure of the octameric PTX3 complex, revealing two long tetrameric coiled coils with two hinge regions, which was validated using classification of cryo-EM two-dimensional averages. The resulting hybrid cryo-EM/AlphaFold structure allowed mapping of ligand binding sites, such as C1q and fibroblast growth factor-2, as well as rationalization of previous biochemical data. Given the relevance of PTX3 in conditions ranging from COVID-19 prognosis, cancer progression, and female infertility, this structure could be used to inform the understanding and rational design of therapies for these disorders and processes.


Subject(s)
C-Reactive Protein , Complement Activation , Serum Amyloid P-Component , Binding Sites , C-Reactive Protein/chemistry , C-Reactive Protein/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , Cryoelectron Microscopy , Female , Humans , Immunity, Innate , Ligands , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Domains , Serum Amyloid P-Component/chemistry
2.
Biophys J ; 121(12): 2353-2370, 2022 06 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1899576

ABSTRACT

The newly developed finite element (FE) modeling at the atomic scale was used to predict the static and dynamic response of the α-helix (AH) and tropocollagen (TC) protein fragments, the main building blocks of the spike of the SARS-CoV-2. The geometry and morphology of the spike's stalk and its connection to the viral envelope were determined from the combination of most recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and images of cryoelectron microscopy. The stiffness parameters of the covalent bonds in the main chain of the helix were taken from the literature. The AH and TC were modeled using both beam elements (wire model) and shell elements (ribbon model) in FE analysis to predict their mechanical properties under tension. The asymptotic stiffening features of AH and TC under tensile loading were revealed and compared with a new analytical solution. The mechanical stiffnesses under other loading conditions, including compression, torsion, and bending, were also predicted numerically and correlated with the results of the existing MD simulations and tests. The mode shapes and natural frequencies of the spike were predicted using the built FE model. The frequencies were shown to be within the safe range of 1-20 MHz routinely used for medical imaging and diagnosis by means of ultrasound. These results provide a solid theoretical basis for using ultrasound to study damaging coronavirus through transient and resonant vibration at large deformations.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Tropocollagen , Cryoelectron Microscopy , Finite Element Analysis , Humans , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , SARS-CoV-2 , Tropocollagen/chemistry
3.
J Mol Model ; 28(5): 128, 2022 Apr 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1802772

ABSTRACT

In COVID-19 infection, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 interacts to the ACE2 receptor of human host, instigating the viral infection. To examine the competitive inhibitor efficacy of broad spectrum alpha helical AMPs extracted from frog skin, a comparative study of intermolecular interactions between viral S1 and AMPs was performed relative to S1-ACE2p interactions. The ACE2 binding region with S1 was extracted as ACE2p from the complex for ease of computation. Surprisingly, the Spike-Dermaseptin-S9 complex had more intermolecular interactions than the other peptide complexes and importantly, the S1-ACE2p complex. We observed how atomic displacements in docked complexes impacted structural integrity of a receptor-binding domain in S1 through conformational sampling analysis. Notably, this geometry-based sampling approach confers the robust interactions that endure in S1-Dermaseptin-S9 complex, demonstrating its conformational transition. Additionally, QM calculations revealed that the global hardness to resist chemical perturbations was found more in Dermaseptin-S9 compared to ACE2p. Moreover, the conventional MD through PCA and the torsional angle analyses indicated that Dermaseptin-S9 altered the conformations of S1 considerably. Our analysis further revealed the high structural stability of S1-Dermaseptin-S9 complex and particularly, the trajectory analysis of the secondary structural elements established the alpha helical conformations to be retained in S1-Dermaseptin-S9 complex, as substantiated by SMD results. In conclusion, the functional dynamics proved to be significant for viral Spike S1 and Dermaseptin-S9 peptide when compared to ACE2p complex. Hence, Dermaseptin-S9 peptide inhibitor could be a strong candidate for therapeutic scaffold to prevent infection of SARS-CoV-2.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , COVID-19 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism , Animals , Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/chemistry , Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/therapeutic use , Anura/metabolism , COVID-19/prevention & control , Humans , Peptides/metabolism , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism
4.
J Biol Chem ; 296: 100025, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1066050

ABSTRACT

Virtually all SARS-CoV-2 vaccines currently in clinical testing are stored in a refrigerated or frozen state prior to use. This is a major impediment to deployment in resource-poor settings. Furthermore, several of them use viral vectors or mRNA. In contrast to protein subunit vaccines, there is limited manufacturing expertise for these nucleic-acid-based modalities, especially in the developing world. Neutralizing antibodies, the clearest known correlate of protection against SARS-CoV-2, are primarily directed against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike protein, suggesting that a suitable RBD construct might serve as a more accessible vaccine ingredient. We describe a monomeric, glycan-engineered RBD protein fragment that is expressed at a purified yield of 214 mg/l in unoptimized, mammalian cell culture and, in contrast to a stabilized spike ectodomain, is tolerant of exposure to temperatures as high as 100 °C when lyophilized, up to 70 °C in solution and stable for over 4 weeks at 37 °C. In prime:boost guinea pig immunizations, when formulated with the MF59-like adjuvant AddaVax, the RBD derivative elicited neutralizing antibodies with an endpoint geometric mean titer of ∼415 against replicative virus, comparing favorably with several vaccine formulations currently in the clinic. These features of high yield, extreme thermotolerance, and satisfactory immunogenicity suggest that such RBD subunit vaccine formulations hold great promise to combat COVID-19.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/biosynthesis , COVID-19 Vaccines/biosynthesis , COVID-19/prevention & control , Receptors, Virus/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Animals , Antibodies, Neutralizing/biosynthesis , Binding Sites , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/virology , COVID-19 Vaccines/administration & dosage , COVID-19 Vaccines/genetics , Escherichia coli/genetics , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Female , Guinea Pigs , HEK293 Cells , Hot Temperature , Humans , Immunogenicity, Vaccine , Models, Molecular , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Domains , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Protein Stability , Receptors, Virus/chemistry , Receptors, Virus/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/chemistry , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Vaccination , Vaccine Potency
5.
Comb Chem High Throughput Screen ; 24(10): 1769-1783, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-918980

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and despite the tremendous efforts to control the disease, it has now spread almost all over the world. The interaction of SARSCoV- 2spike protein and its acceptor protein ACE2 is an important issue in determining viral host range and cross-species infection, while the binding capacity of spike protein to ACE2 of different species is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The present study has been conducted to determine the susceptibility of livestock, poultry and pets to SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: We evaluated the receptor-utilizing capability of ACE2s from various species by sequence alignment, phylogenetic clustering and protein-ligand interaction studies with the currently known ACE2s utilized by SARS-CoV-2. RESULT: In-silico study predicted that SARS-CoV-2 tends to utilize ACE2s of various animal species with varied possible interactions. The probability of the receptor utilization will be greater in horse and poor in chicken, followed by ruminants. CONCLUSION: Present study predicted that SARS-CoV-2 tends to utilize ACE2s of various livestock and poultry species with greater probability in equine and poor in chicken. The study may provide important insights into the animal models for SARS-CoV-2 and animal management for COVID- 19 control.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/virology , Pandemics , Receptors, Virus/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/classification , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism , Animals , Binding Sites , Buffaloes , COVID-19/transmission , Camelus , Cats , Cattle , Chickens , Chiroptera , Dogs , Gene Expression , Goats , Horses , Humans , Molecular Docking Simulation , Phylogeny , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Receptors, Virus/chemistry , Receptors, Virus/classification , Receptors, Virus/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity , Sheep , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism , Swine
6.
Comb Chem High Throughput Screen ; 24(10): 1795-1802, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-918979

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to bind the host cell ACE2 receptor through its spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD), required for its entry into the host cells. OBJECTIVE: We have screened phytocompounds from a medicinal herb, Tinospora cordifolia for their capacities to interrupt the viral RBD and host ACE2 interactions. METHODS: We employed molecular docking to screen phytocompounds in T. cordifolia against the ACE2-RBD complex, performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and estimated the electrostatic component of binding free energy. RESULTS: 'Tinocordiside' docked very well at the center of the interface of ACE2-RBD complex, and was found to be well stabilized during MD simulation. Tinocordiside incorporation significantly decreased the electrostatic component of binding free energies of the ACE2-RBD complex (23.5 and 17.10 kcal/mol in the trajectories without or with the ligand, respectively). As the basal rate constant of protein association is in the order of 5 (105 to 106 M-1S-1), there might be no big conformational change or loop reorganization, but involves only local conformational change typically observed in the diffusion-controlled association. Taken together, the increase in global flexibility of the complex clearly indicates the start of unbinding process of the complex. CONCLUSION: It indicates that such an interruption of electrostatic interactions between the RBD and ACE2, and the increase in global flexibility of the complex would weaken or block SARSCoV- 2 entry and its subsequent infectivity. We postulate that natural phytochemicals like Tinocordiside could be viable options for controlling SARS-CoV-2 contagion and its entry into host cells.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Glycosides/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Tinospora/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/isolation & purification , Binding Sites , COVID-19/virology , Gene Expression , Glycosides/chemistry , Glycosides/isolation & purification , Host-Pathogen Interactions/drug effects , Host-Pathogen Interactions/genetics , Humans , Kinetics , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2/growth & development , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/antagonists & inhibitors , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism , Static Electricity , Thermodynamics , Virus Internalization/drug effects , COVID-19 Drug Treatment
7.
Nat Chem Biol ; 17(1): 113-121, 2021 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-882912

ABSTRACT

Neutralizing agents against SARS-CoV-2 are urgently needed for the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19. Here, we present a strategy to rapidly identify and assemble synthetic human variable heavy (VH) domains toward neutralizing epitopes. We constructed a VH-phage library and targeted the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding interface of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor-binding domain (Spike-RBD). Using a masked selection approach, we identified VH binders to two non-overlapping epitopes and further assembled these into multivalent and bi-paratopic formats. These VH constructs showed increased affinity to Spike (up to 600-fold) and neutralization potency (up to 1,400-fold) on pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 virus when compared to standalone VH domains. The most potent binder, a trivalent VH, neutralized authentic SARS-CoV-2 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 4.0 nM (180 ng ml-1). A cryo-EM structure of the trivalent VH bound to Spike shows each VH domain engaging an RBD at the ACE2 binding site, confirming our original design strategy.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Antibodies, Neutralizing/chemistry , Antibodies, Viral/chemistry , Single-Chain Antibodies/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/antagonists & inhibitors , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/immunology , Animals , Antibodies, Neutralizing/genetics , Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/genetics , Antibodies, Viral/immunology , Binding Sites, Antibody/genetics , Binding Sites, Antibody/immunology , Chlorocebus aethiops , Cryoelectron Microscopy , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Models, Molecular , Peptide Library , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2 , Single-Chain Antibodies/genetics , Single-Chain Antibodies/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/antagonists & inhibitors , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Vero Cells
8.
J Biomol Struct Dyn ; 40(4): 1546-1557, 2022 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-842248

ABSTRACT

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has infected more than 10 million people and caused more than 502,539 deaths worldwide as of June 2020. The explosive spread of the virus and the rapid increase in the number of cases require the immediate development of effective therapies and vaccines as well as accurate diagnosis tools. The pathogenesis of the disease is triggered by the entry of SARS-CoV-2 via its spike protein into ACE2-bearing host cells, particularly pneumocytes, resulting in overactivation of the immune system, which attacks the infected cells and damages the lung tissue. The interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) with host cells is primarily mediated by the N-terminal helix of ACE2; thus, inhibition of the spike-ACE2 interaction may be a promising therapeutic strategy for blocking the virus entry into host cells. In this paper, we used an in-silico approach to explore small-molecule α-helix mimetics as inhibitors that may disrupt the attachment of SARS-CoV-2 to ACE2. First, the RBD-ACE2 interface in the 6M0J structure was studied by the MM-GBSA decomposition module of the HawkDock server, which led to the identification of two critical target regions in the RBD. Next, two virtual screening experiments of 7236 α-helix mimetics from ASINEX were conducted on the above regions using the iDock tool, which resulted in 10 candidates with favorable binding affinities. Finally, the stability of RBD complexes with the top-two ranked compounds was further validated by 100 ns of molecular dynamics simulations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.


Subject(s)
SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/antagonists & inhibitors , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , COVID-19 , Humans , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects
9.
Molecules ; 25(18)2020 Sep 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-769374

ABSTRACT

Mass spectrometry and some other biophysical methods, have made substantial contributions to the studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human proteins interactions. The most interesting feature of SARS-CoV-2 seems to be the structure of its spike (S) protein and its interaction with the human cell receptor. Mass spectrometry of spike S protein revealed how the glycoforms are distributed across the S protein surface. X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy made huge impact on the studies on the S protein and ACE2 receptor protein interaction, by elucidating the three-dimensional structures of these proteins and their conformational changes. The findings of the most recent studies in the scope of SARS-CoV-2-Human protein-protein interactions are described here.


Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/chemistry , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Pandemics , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/chemistry , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Receptors, Virus/chemistry , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Binding Sites , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Gene Expression , Host-Pathogen Interactions , Humans , Models, Molecular , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/metabolism , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Receptors, Virus/genetics , Receptors, Virus/metabolism , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/chemistry , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/pathogenicity , SARS-CoV-2 , Sequence Alignment , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/virology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism
10.
Cell Mol Immunol ; 17(10): 1095-1097, 2020 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-748174
11.
Molecules ; 25(17)2020 Aug 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-737517

ABSTRACT

Three types of new coronaviruses (CoVs) have been identified recently as the causative viruses for the severe pneumonia-like respiratory illnesses, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Neither therapeutic agents nor vaccines have been developed to date, which is a major drawback in controlling the present global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has resulted in more than 20,439,814 cases and 744,385 deaths. Each of the 3C-like (3CL) proteases of the three CoVs is essential for the proliferation of the CoVs, and an inhibitor of the 3CL protease (3CLpro) is thought to be an ideal therapeutic agent against SARS, MERS, or COVID-19. Among these, SARS-CoV is the first corona-virus isolated and has been studied in detail since the first pandemic in 2003. This article briefly reviews a series of studies on SARS-CoV, focusing on the development of inhibitors for the SARS-CoV 3CLpro based on molecular interactions with the 3CL protease. Our recent approach, based on the structure-based rational design of a novel scaffold for SARS-CoV 3CLpro inhibitor, is also included. The achievements summarized in this short review would be useful for the design of a variety of novel inhibitors for corona-viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/chemistry , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus/pathogenicity , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/pathogenicity , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Antiviral Agents/classification , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Betacoronavirus/enzymology , COVID-19 , Catalytic Domain , Coronavirus 3C Proteases , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Crystallography, X-Ray , Cysteine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Cysteine Endopeptidases/genetics , Cysteine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Humans , Kinetics , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus/genetics , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus/metabolism , Molecular Docking Simulation , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Protease Inhibitors/classification , Protease Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/genetics , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2 , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/drug therapy , Substrate Specificity , Thermodynamics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism
12.
Molecules ; 25(17)2020 Aug 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-727434

ABSTRACT

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak caused an unprecedented global public health threat, having a high transmission rate with currently no drugs or vaccines approved. An alternative powerful additional approach to counteract COVID-19 is in silico drug repurposing. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease is essential for viral replication and an attractive drug target. In this study, we used the virtual screening protocol with both long-range and short-range interactions to select candidate SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. First, the Informational spectrum method applied for small molecules was used for searching the Drugbank database and further followed by molecular docking. After in silico screening of drug space, we identified 57 drugs as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors that we propose for further experimental testing.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Cysteine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Mezlocillin/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Raltegravir Potassium/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry , Allosteric Site , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Betacoronavirus/enzymology , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , COVID-19 , Catalytic Domain , Coronavirus 3C Proteases , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/enzymology , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Cysteine Endopeptidases/genetics , Cysteine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Drug Repositioning , Gene Expression , High-Throughput Screening Assays , Humans , Mezlocillin/pharmacology , Molecular Docking Simulation , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/enzymology , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Raltegravir Potassium/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2 , Thermodynamics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism , Virus Replication/drug effects
13.
Molecules ; 25(17)2020 Aug 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-727433

ABSTRACT

Presently, there are no approved drugs or vaccines to treat COVID-19, which has spread to over 200 countries and at the time of writing was responsible for over 650,000 deaths worldwide. Recent studies have shown that two human proteases, TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L, play a key role in host cell entry of SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, inhibitors of these proteases were shown to block SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we perform virtual screening of 14,011 phytochemicals produced by Indian medicinal plants to identify natural product inhibitors of TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L. AutoDock Vina was used to perform molecular docking of phytochemicals against TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L. Potential phytochemical inhibitors were filtered by comparing their docked binding energies with those of known inhibitors of TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L. Further, the ligand binding site residues and non-covalent interactions between protein and ligand were used as an additional filter to identify phytochemical inhibitors that either bind to or form interactions with residues important for the specificity of the target proteases. This led to the identification of 96 inhibitors of TMPRSS2 and 9 inhibitors of cathepsin L among phytochemicals of Indian medicinal plants. Further, we have performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to analyze the stability of the protein-ligand complexes for the three top inhibitors of TMPRSS2 namely, qingdainone, edgeworoside C and adlumidine, and of cathepsin L namely, ararobinol, (+)-oxoturkiyenine and 3α,17α-cinchophylline. Interestingly, several herbal sources of identified phytochemical inhibitors have antiviral or anti-inflammatory use in traditional medicine. Further in vitro and in vivo testing is needed before clinical trials of the promising phytochemical inhibitors identified here.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Cathepsin L/chemistry , Phytochemicals/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Receptors, Virus/chemistry , Serine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Antiviral Agents/isolation & purification , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Binding Sites , COVID-19 , Cathepsin L/antagonists & inhibitors , Cathepsin L/genetics , Cathepsin L/metabolism , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/enzymology , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Coumarins/chemistry , Coumarins/isolation & purification , Coumarins/pharmacology , Gene Expression , High-Throughput Screening Assays , Host-Pathogen Interactions/drug effects , Host-Pathogen Interactions/genetics , Humans , India , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Monosaccharides/chemistry , Monosaccharides/isolation & purification , Monosaccharides/pharmacology , Pandemics , Phytochemicals/isolation & purification , Phytochemicals/pharmacology , Plants, Medicinal/chemistry , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/enzymology , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protease Inhibitors/isolation & purification , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Quinazolines/chemistry , Quinazolines/isolation & purification , Quinazolines/pharmacology , Receptors, Virus/antagonists & inhibitors , Receptors, Virus/genetics , Receptors, Virus/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2 , Serine Endopeptidases/genetics , Serine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Thermodynamics , Virus Internalization/drug effects
14.
IUBMB Life ; 72(10): 2112-2120, 2020 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-720322

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent for the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, and this virus belongs to the Coronaviridae family. Like other members of this family, the virus possesses a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome. The genome encodes for the nsp12 protein, which houses the RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRP) activity responsible for the replication of the viral genome. A homology model of nsp12 was prepared using the structure of the SARS nsp12 (6NUR) as a model. The model was used to carry out in silico screening to identify molecules among natural products, or Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs that can potentially inhibit the activity of nsp12. This exercise showed that vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) may bind to the active site of the nsp12 protein. A model of the nsp12 in complex with substrate RNA and incoming NTP showed that vitamin B12 binding site overlaps with that of the incoming nucleotide. A comparison of the calculated energies of binding for RNA plus NTP and methylcobalamin suggested that the vitamin may bind to the active site of nsp12 with significant affinity. It is, therefore, possible that methylcobalamin binding may prevent association with RNA and NTP and thus inhibit the RdRP activity of nsp12. Overall, our computational studies suggest that methylcobalamin form of vitamin B12 may serve as an effective inhibitor of the nsp12 protein.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/antagonists & inhibitors , Genome, Viral , SARS-CoV-2/enzymology , Vitamin B 12/pharmacology , Amino Acid Sequence , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Binding Sites , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/chemistry , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/genetics , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/metabolism , High-Throughput Screening Assays , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Prescription Drugs/chemistry , Prescription Drugs/pharmacology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Sequence Alignment , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , Substrate Specificity , Thermodynamics , User-Computer Interface , Vitamin B 12/chemistry
15.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun ; 532(1): 134-138, 2020 10 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-714367

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 is the etiologic agent of COVID-19. There is currently no effective means of preventing infections by SARS-CoV-2, except through restriction of population movement and contact. An understanding of the origin, evolution and biochemistry (molecular biology) of SARS-CoV-2 is a prerequisite to its control. Mutations in the phosphorylation sites of SARS-CoV-2 encoded nucleocapsid protein isolated from various populations and locations, are described. Mutations occurred in the phosphorylation sites, all located within a stretch which forms a phosphorylation dependent interaction site, including C-TAK1 phosphorylation sites for 14-3-3. The consequences of these mutations are discussed and a structure-based model for the role of protein 14-3-3 in the sequestration and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein's function is presented. It is proposed that the phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and its sequestration by Protein 14-3-3 is a cellular response mechanism for the control and inhibition of the replication, transcription and packaging of the SARS-CoV-2 genome.


Subject(s)
14-3-3 Proteins/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/genetics , Genome, Viral , Host-Pathogen Interactions/genetics , Nucleocapsid Proteins/chemistry , 14-3-3 Proteins/genetics , 14-3-3 Proteins/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Betacoronavirus/metabolism , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Binding Sites , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins , Gene Expression , Humans , Molecular Docking Simulation , Mutation , Nucleocapsid Proteins/genetics , Nucleocapsid Proteins/metabolism , Pandemics , Phosphoproteins , Phosphorylation , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Protein Multimerization , SARS-CoV-2 , Sequence Alignment , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , Thermodynamics
16.
J Med Virol ; 92(6): 584-588, 2020 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-685102

ABSTRACT

Last December 2019, a new virus, named novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019) causing many cases of severe pneumonia was reported in Wuhan, China. The virus knowledge is limited and especially about COVID-2019 pathogenesis. The Open Reading Frame 1ab (ORF1ab) of COVID-2019 has been analyzed to evidence the presence of mutation caused by selective pressure on the virus. For selective pressure analysis fast-unconstrained Bayesian approximation (FUBAR) was used. Homology modelling has been performed by SwissModel and HHPred servers. The presence of transmembrane helical segments in Coronavirus ORF1ab non structural protein 2 (nsp2) and nsp3 was tested by TMHMM, MEMSAT, and MEMPACK tools. Three-dimensional structures have been analyzed and displayed using PyMOL. FUBAR analysis revealed the presence of potential sites under positive selective pressure (P < .05). Position 723 in the COVID-2019 has a serine instead a glycine residue, while at aminoacidic position 1010 a proline instead an isoleucine. Significant (P < .05) pervasive negative selection in 2416 sites (55%) was found. The positive selective pressure could account for some clinical features of this virus compared with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Bat SARS-like CoV. The stabilizing mutation falling in the endosome-associated-protein-like domain of the nsp2 protein could account for COVID-2019 high ability of contagious, while the destabilizing mutation in nsp3 proteins could suggest a potential mechanism differentiating COVID-2019 from SARS. These data could be helpful for further investigation aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets or vaccine strategy, especially in the actual moment when the epidemic is ongoing and the scientific community is trying to enrich knowledge about this new viral pathogen.


Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/genetics , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry , Viral Proteins/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Female , Gene Expression , Humans , Male , Models, Molecular , Mutation , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Polyproteins , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/pathogenicity , SARS-CoV-2 , Selection, Genetic , Structural Homology, Protein , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism , Viral Proteins/genetics , Viral Proteins/metabolism
17.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother ; 64(9)2020 08 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-646490

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus (CoV) disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a health threat worldwide. Viral main protease (Mpro, also called 3C-like protease [3CLpro]) is a therapeutic target for drug discovery. Herein, we report that GC376, a broad-spectrum inhibitor targeting Mpro in the picornavirus-like supercluster, is a potent inhibitor for the Mpro encoded by SARS-CoV-2, with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 26.4 ± 1.1 nM. In this study, we also show that GC376 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication with a half-maximum effective concentration (EC50) of 0.91 ± 0.03 µM. Only a small portion of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro was covalently modified in the excess of GC376 as evaluated by mass spectrometry analysis, indicating that improved inhibitors are needed. Subsequently, molecular docking analysis revealed that the recognition and binding groups of GC376 within the active site of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro provide important new information for the optimization of GC376. Given that sufficient safety and efficacy data are available for GC376 as an investigational veterinary drug, expedited development of GC376, or its optimized analogues, for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human is recommended.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Cysteine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Pyrrolidines/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry , Amino Acid Motifs , Animals , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Catalytic Domain , Chlorocebus aethiops , Coronavirus 3C Proteases , Cysteine Endopeptidases/genetics , Cysteine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Gene Expression , Molecular Docking Simulation , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Pyrrolidines/pharmacology , Recombinant Proteins/chemistry , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2 , Sulfonic Acids , Thermodynamics , Vero Cells , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism , Virus Replication/drug effects
18.
Biophys Chem ; 264: 106425, 2020 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-634721

ABSTRACT

The novel SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent causing the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which continues to become an inevitable pandemic outbreak. Over a short span of time, the structures of therapeutic target proteins for SARS-CoV-2 were identified based on the homology modelled structure of similar SARS-CoV transmission of 2003. Since the onset of the disease, the research community has been looking for a potential drug lead. Out of all the known resolved structures related to SARS-CoV, Main protease (Mpro) is considered an attractive anti-viral drug target on the grounds of its role in viral replication and probable non-interactive competency to bind to any viral host protein. To the best of our knowledge, till date only one compound has been identified and tested in-vivo as a potent inhibitor of Mpro protein, addressed as N3 (PubChem Compound CID: 6323191) and is known to bind irreversibly to Mpro suppressing its activity. Using computational approach, we intend to identify a probable natural fungal metabolite to interact and inhibit Mpro. After screening various small molecules for molecular docking and dynamics simulation, we propose Pyranonigrin A, a secondary fungal metabolite to possess potent inhibitory potential against the Main protease (Mpro) expressed in SARS-CoV-2 virus.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/enzymology , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Pyrones/chemistry , Pyrroles/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Binding Sites , Coronavirus 3C Proteases , Crystallography, X-Ray , Cysteine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Cysteine Endopeptidases/genetics , Cysteine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Drug Discovery , Gene Expression , Hydrogen Bonding , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2 , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , Thermodynamics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/metabolism
19.
Infect Genet Evol ; 84: 104451, 2020 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-630854

ABSTRACT

WHO has declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. The ever-growing new cases have called for an urgent emergency for specific anti-COVID-19 drugs. Three structural proteins (Membrane, Envelope and Nucleocapsid protein) play an essential role in the assembly and formation of the infectious virion particles. Thus, the present study was designed to identify potential drug candidates from the unique collection of 548 anti-viral compounds (natural and synthetic anti-viral), which target SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins. High-end molecular docking analysis was performed to characterize the binding affinity of the selected drugs-the ligand, with the SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins, while high-level Simulation studies analyzed the stability of drug-protein interactions. The present study identified rutin, a bioflavonoid and the antibiotic, doxycycline, as the most potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein. Caffeic acid and ferulic acid were found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein while the anti-viral agent's simeprevir and grazoprevir showed a high binding affinity for nucleocapsid protein. All these compounds not only showed excellent pharmacokinetic properties, absorption, metabolism, minimal toxicity and bioavailability but were also remain stabilized at the active site of proteins during the MD simulation. Thus, the identified lead compounds may act as potential molecules for the development of effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2 by inhibiting the envelope formation, virion assembly and viral pathogenesis.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Nucleocapsid Proteins/chemistry , Viral Envelope Proteins/chemistry , Viral Matrix Proteins/chemistry , Virion/drug effects , Amides , Amino Acid Sequence , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/genetics , Betacoronavirus/metabolism , Binding Sites , COVID-19 , Caffeic Acids/chemistry , Caffeic Acids/pharmacology , Carbamates , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Coumaric Acids/chemistry , Coumaric Acids/pharmacology , Cyclopropanes , Doxycycline/chemistry , Doxycycline/pharmacology , Gene Expression , Humans , Kinetics , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Nucleocapsid Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Nucleocapsid Proteins/genetics , Nucleocapsid Proteins/metabolism , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Quinoxalines/chemistry , Quinoxalines/pharmacology , Rutin/chemistry , Rutin/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2 , Sequence Alignment , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , Simeprevir/chemistry , Simeprevir/pharmacology , Sulfonamides , Thermodynamics , Viral Envelope Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Viral Envelope Proteins/genetics , Viral Envelope Proteins/metabolism , Viral Matrix Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Viral Matrix Proteins/genetics , Viral Matrix Proteins/metabolism , Virion/genetics
20.
Virus Res ; 288: 198082, 2020 10 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-624387

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people with a large number of deaths across the globe. The existing therapies are limited in dealing with SARS-CoV-2 due to the sudden appearance of the virus. Therefore, vaccines and antiviral medicines are in desperate need. We took immune-informatics approaches to identify B- and T-cell epitopes for surface glycoprotein (S), membrane glycoprotein (M) and nucleocapsid protein (N) of SARS-CoV-2, followed by estimating their antigenicity and interactions with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Allergenicity, toxicity, physiochemical properties analysis and stability were examined to confirm the specificity and selectivity of the epitope candidates. We identified a total of five B cell epitopes in RBD of S protein, seven MHC class-I, and 18 MHC class-II binding T-cell epitopes from S, M and N protein which showed non-allergenic, non-toxic and highly antigenic features and non-mutated in 55,179 SARS-CoV-2 virus strains until June 25, 2020. The epitopes identified here can be a potentially good candidate repertoire for vaccine development.


Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/immunology , Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/chemistry , Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/chemistry , Nucleocapsid Proteins/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Viral Matrix Proteins/chemistry , Viral Vaccines/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Binding Sites , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Vaccines , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Coronavirus M Proteins , Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins , Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/immunology , Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/metabolism , Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology , Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/metabolism , Humans , Immunogenicity, Vaccine , Models, Molecular , Nucleocapsid Proteins/immunology , Nucleocapsid Proteins/metabolism , Pandemics/prevention & control , Phosphoproteins , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical , Protein Conformation, beta-Strand , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism , Viral Matrix Proteins/immunology , Viral Matrix Proteins/metabolism , Viral Vaccines/administration & dosage , Viral Vaccines/biosynthesis
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