Zika M-A Potential Viroporin: Mutational Study and Drug Repurposing.

Genus Flavivirus contains several important human pathogens. Among these, the Zika virus is an emerging etiological agent that merits concern. One of its structural proteins, prM, plays an essential role in viral maturation and assembly, making it an attractive drug and vaccine development target. Herein, we have characterized ZikV-M as a potential viroporin candidate using three different bacteria-based assays. These assays were subsequently employed to screen a library of repurposed drugs from which ten compounds were identified as ZikV-M blockers. Mutational analyses of conserved amino acids in the transmembrane domain of other flaviviruses, including West Nile and Dengue virus, were performed to study their role in ion channel activity. In conclusion, our data show that ZikV-M is a potential ion channel that can be used as a drug target for high throughput screening and drug repurposing.

Identification of SARS-CoV-2 E Channel Blockers from a Repurposed Drug Library.

SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a member of the Coronaviridae family. It is an enveloped virus with ion channels in its membrane, the most characterized of which is the E protein. Therefore, in an attempt to identify blockers of the E channel, we screened a library of 2839 approved-for-human-use drugs. Our approach yielded eight compounds that exhibited appreciable activity in three bacteria-based channel assays. Considering the fact that the E channel is the most conserved of all SARS-CoV-2 proteins, any inhibitor of its activity may provide an option to curb the viral spread. In addition, inhibitors can also enhance our ability to understand the exact role played by the E protein during the infectivity cycle. Finally, detailed electrophysiological analyses, alongside in vitro and in vivo studies will be needed to establish the exact potential of each of the blockers identified in our study.

Blockers of the SARS-CoV-2 3a Channel Identified by Targeted Drug Repurposing.

The etiological agent of the COVID-19 pandemic is SARS-CoV-2. As a member of the Coronaviridae, the enveloped pathogen has several membrane proteins, of which two, E and 3a, were suggested to function as ion channels. In an effort to increase our treatment options, alongside providing new research tools, we have sought to inhibit the 3a channel by targeted drug repurposing. To that end, using three bacteria-based assays, we screened a library of 2839 approved-for-human-use drugs and identified the following potential channel-blockers: Capreomycin, Pentamidine, Spectinomycin, Kasugamycin, Plerixafor, Flumatinib, Litronesib, Darapladib, Floxuridine and Fludarabine. The stage is now set for examining the activity of these compounds in detailed electrophysiological studies and their impact on the whole virus with appropriate biosafety measures.

Potential Viroporin Candidates From Pathogenic Viruses Using Bacteria-Based Bioassays.

Viroporins are a family of small hydrophobic proteins found in many enveloped viruses that are capable of ion transport. Building upon the ability to inhibit influenza by blocking its archetypical M2 H+ channel, as a family, viroporins may represent a viable target to curb viral infectivity. To this end, using three bacterial assays we analyzed six small hydrophobic proteins from biomedically important viruses as potential viroporin candidates. Our results indicate that Eastern equine encephalitis virus 6k, West Nile virus MgM, Dengue virus 2k, Dengue virus P1, Variola virus gp170, and Variola virus gp151 proteins all exhibit channel activity in the bacterial assays, and as such may be considered viroporin candidates. It is clear that more studies, such as patch clamping, will be needed to characterize the ionic conductivities of these proteins. However, our approach presents a rapid procedure to analyze open reading frames in other viruses, yielding new viroporin candidates for future detailed investigation. Finally, if conductivity is proven vital to their cognate viruses, the bio-assays presented herein afford a simple approach to screen for new channel blockers.

Purification, characterisation and cloning of a 2S albumin with DNase, RNase and antifungal activities from Putranjiva roxburghii.

The present study reports the characterisation of a novel ~12-kDa heterodimeric protein, designated as putrin, from the seeds of Putranjiva roxburghii. The purification of putrin to homogeneity was accomplished using DEAE-sepharose where protein was unbound, CM-sepharose and Cibacron blue 3GA where it was bound and appeared as single peak on a size-exclusion chromatography column. A 15 % sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel, under reducing condition, demonstrated that putrin is made of two polypeptide chains of approximately 4.5 and 7.5 kDa. Circular dichroism studies demonstrated the helical nature and conformational stability of protein at increasing temperatures. Putrin exhibited both RNase and DNase activities and exerted antifungal activity but possessed relatively weak translation-inhibitory activity in cell-free system. The cloning and sequence analysis revealed a 414 bp open reading frame encoding a preproprotein of 137 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis of putrin showed significant homology to 2S seed storage family proteins. The results demonstrated that putrin belongs to 2S albumin family and exhibits a spectrum of biotechnologically exploitable functions.

Characterization of anticancer, DNase and antifungal activity of pumpkin 2S albumin.

The plant 2S albumins exhibit a spectrum of biotechnologically exploitable functions. Among them, pumpkin 2S albumin has been shown to possess RNase and cell-free translational inhibitory activities. The present study investigated the anticancer, DNase and antifungal activities of pumpkin 2S albumin. The protein exhibited a strong anticancer activity toward breast cancer (MCF-7), ovarian teratocarcinoma (PA-1), prostate cancer (PC-3 and DU-145) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. Acridine orange staining and DNA fragmentation studies indicated that cytotoxic effect of pumpkin 2S albumin is mediated through induction of apoptosis. Pumpkin 2S albumin showed DNase activity against both supercoiled and linear DNA and exerted antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum. Secondary structure analysis by CD showed that protein is highly stable up to 90°C and retains its alpha helical structure. These results demonstrated that pumpkin 2S albumin is a multifunctional protein with host of potential biotechnology applications.

Structural insights into the aggregation behavior of Murraya koenigii miraculin-like protein below pH 7.5.

Murraya koenigii miraculin-like protein (MKMLP) gradually precipitates below pH 7.5. Here, we explore the basis for this aggregation by identifying the aggregation-prone regions via comparative analysis of crystal structures acquired at several pH values. The prediction of aggregation-prone regions showed the presence of four short peptides either in beta sheets or loops on surface of the protein. These peptides were distributed in two patches far apart on the surface. Comparison of crystal structures of MKMLP, determined at 2.2 Å resolution in pH 7.0 and 4.6 in the present study and determined at 2.9 Å in pH 8.0 in an earlier reported study, reveal subtle conformational differences resulting in gradual exposure of aggregation-prone regions. As the pH is lowered, there are alterations in ionic interactions within the protein interactions of the chain with water molecules and exposure of hydrophobic residues. The analysis of symmetry-related molecular interfaces involving one patch revealed shortening of nonpolar intermolecular contacts as the pH decreased. In particular, a decrease in the intermolecular distance between Trp103 of the aggregation-prone peptide WFITTG (103-108) unique to MLPs was observed. These results demonstrated that aggregation occurs due to the cumulative effect of the changes in interactions in two aggregation-prone defined regions.

Molecular evolution of miraculin-like proteins in soybean Kunitz super-family.

Miraculin-like proteins (MLPs) belong to soybean Kunitz super-family and have been characterized from many plant families like Rutaceae, Solanaceae, Rubiaceae, etc. Many of them possess trypsin inhibitory activity and are involved in plant defense. MLPs exhibit significant sequence identity (~30-95%) to native miraculin protein, also belonging to Kunitz super-family compared with a typical Kunitz family member (~30%). The sequence and structure-function comparison of MLPs with that of a classical Kunitz inhibitor have demonstrated that MLPs have evolved to form a distinct group within Kunitz super-family. Sequence analysis of new genes along with available MLP sequences in the literature revealed three major groups for these proteins. A significant feature of Rutaceae MLP type 2 sequences is the presence of phosphorylation motif. Subtle changes are seen in putative reactive loop residues among different MLPs suggesting altered specificities to specific proteases. In phylogenetic analysis, Rutaceae MLP type 1 and type 2 proteins clustered together on separate branches, whereas native miraculin along with other MLPs formed distinct clusters. Site-specific positive Darwinian selection was observed at many sites in both the groups of Rutaceae MLP sequences with most of the residues undergoing positive selection located in loop regions. The results demonstrate the sequence and thereby the structure-function divergence of MLPs as a distinct group within soybean Kunitz super-family due to biotic and abiotic stresses of local environment.