1
|
Majchrzak M, Madej Ł, Łysek-Gładysińska M, Zarębska-Michaluk D, Zegadło K, Dziuba A, Nogal-Nowak K, Kondziołka W, Sufin I, Myszona-Tarnowska M, Jaśkowski M, Kędzierski M, Maciukajć J, Matykiewicz J, Głuszek S, Adamus-Białek W. The RdRp genotyping of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from patients with different clinical spectrum of COVID-19. BMC Infect Dis 2024; 24:281. [PMID: 38439047 PMCID: PMC10913261 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09146-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has been observed from the very beginning of the fight against COVID-19, some mutations are indicators of potentially dangerous variants of the virus. However, there is no clear association between the genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-19. We aimed to analyze the genetic variability of RdRp in correlation with different courses of COVID-19. RESULTS The prospective study included 77 samples of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from outpatients (1st degree of severity) and hospitalized patients (2nd, 3rd and 4th degree of severity). The retrospective analyses included 15,898,266 cases of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences deposited in the GISAID repository. Single-nucleotide variants were identified based on the four sequenced amplified fragments of SARS-CoV-2. The analysis of the results was performed using appropriate statistical methods, with p < 0.05, considered statistically significant. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the strongest determinants of the observed relationships. The number of mutations was positively correlated with the severity of the COVID-19, and older male patients. We detected four mutations that significantly increased the risk of hospitalization of COVID-19 patients (14676C > T, 14697C > T, 15096 T > C, and 15279C > T), while the 15240C > T mutation was common among strains isolated from outpatients. The selected mutations were searched worldwide in the GISAID database, their presence was correlated with the severity of COVID-19. CONCLUSION Identified mutations have the potential to be used to assess the increased risk of hospitalization in COVID-19 positive patients. Experimental studies and extensive epidemiological data are needed to investigate the association between individual mutations and the severity of COVID-19.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michał Majchrzak
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
| | - Łukasz Madej
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
| | | | | | - Katarzyna Zegadło
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
| | - Anna Dziuba
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Stanisław Głuszek
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wu X, Shan K, Zan F, Tang X, Qian Z, Lu J. Optimization and Deoptimization of Codons in SARS-CoV-2 and Related Implications for Vaccine Development. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2205445. [PMID: 37267926 PMCID: PMC10427376 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202205445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has progressed into a global pandemic. To date, thousands of genetic variants have been identified among SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected from patients. Sequence analysis reveals that the codon adaptation index (CAI) values of viral sequences have decreased over time but with occasional fluctuations. Through evolution modeling, it is found that this phenomenon may result from the virus's mutation preference during transmission. Using dual-luciferase assays, it is further discovered that the deoptimization of codons in the viral sequence may weaken protein expression during virus evolution, indicating that codon usage may play an important role in virus fitness. Finally, given the importance of codon usage in protein expression and particularly for mRNA vaccines, it is designed several codon-optimized Omicron BA.2.12.1, BA.4/5, and XBB.1.5 spike mRNA vaccine candidates and experimentally validated their high levels of expression. This study highlights the importance of codon usage in virus evolution and provides guidelines for codon optimization in mRNA and DNA vaccine development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinkai Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene ResearchCenter for BioinformaticsSchool of Life SciencesPeking UniversityBeijing100871China
| | - Ke‐jia Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene ResearchCenter for BioinformaticsSchool of Life SciencesPeking UniversityBeijing100871China
| | - Fuwen Zan
- NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of PathogensInstitute of Pathogen BiologyChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijing100176China
| | - Xiaolu Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene ResearchCenter for BioinformaticsSchool of Life SciencesPeking UniversityBeijing100871China
| | - Zhaohui Qian
- NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of PathogensInstitute of Pathogen BiologyChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijing100176China
| | - Jian Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene ResearchCenter for BioinformaticsSchool of Life SciencesPeking UniversityBeijing100871China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fumagalli SE, Padhiar NH, Meyer D, Katneni U, Bar H, DiCuccio M, Komar AA, Kimchi-Sarfaty C. Analysis of 3.5 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences reveals unique mutational trends with consistent nucleotide and codon frequencies. Virol J 2023; 20:31. [PMID: 36812119 PMCID: PMC9936480 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-01982-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Since the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, bioinformatic analyses have been performed to understand the nucleotide and synonymous codon usage features and mutational patterns of the virus. However, comparatively few have attempted to perform such analyses on a considerably large cohort of viral genomes while organizing the plethora of available sequence data for a month-by-month analysis to observe changes over time. Here, we aimed to perform sequence composition and mutation analysis of SARS-CoV-2, separating sequences by gene, clade, and timepoints, and contrast the mutational profile of SARS-CoV-2 to other comparable RNA viruses. METHODS Using a cleaned, filtered, and pre-aligned dataset of over 3.5 million sequences downloaded from the GISAID database, we computed nucleotide and codon usage statistics, including calculation of relative synonymous codon usage values. We then calculated codon adaptation index (CAI) changes and a nonsynonymous/synonymous mutation ratio (dN/dS) over time for our dataset. Finally, we compiled information on the types of mutations occurring for SARS-CoV-2 and other comparable RNA viruses, and generated heatmaps showing codon and nucleotide composition at high entropy positions along the Spike sequence. RESULTS We show that nucleotide and codon usage metrics remain relatively consistent over the 32-month span, though there are significant differences between clades within each gene at various timepoints. CAI and dN/dS values vary substantially between different timepoints and different genes, with Spike gene on average showing both the highest CAI and dN/dS values. Mutational analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 Spike has a higher proportion of nonsynonymous mutations than analogous genes in other RNA viruses, with nonsynonymous mutations outnumbering synonymous ones by up to 20:1. However, at several specific positions, synonymous mutations were overwhelmingly predominant. CONCLUSIONS Our multifaceted analysis covering both the composition and mutation signature of SARS-CoV-2 gives valuable insight into the nucleotide frequency and codon usage heterogeneity of SARS-CoV-2 over time, and its unique mutational profile compared to other RNA viruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Fumagalli
- Hemostasis Branch, Division of Plasma Protein Therapeutics, Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Nigam H Padhiar
- Hemostasis Branch, Division of Plasma Protein Therapeutics, Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Douglas Meyer
- Hemostasis Branch, Division of Plasma Protein Therapeutics, Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Upendra Katneni
- Hemostasis Branch, Division of Plasma Protein Therapeutics, Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Haim Bar
- Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | | | - Anton A Komar
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Chava Kimchi-Sarfaty
- Hemostasis Branch, Division of Plasma Protein Therapeutics, Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bai H, Ata G, Sun Q, Rahman SU, Tao S. Natural selection pressure exerted on "Silent" mutations during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from codon usage and RNA structure. Virus Res 2023; 323:198966. [PMID: 36244617 PMCID: PMC9561399 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
From the first emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) till now, multiple mutations that caused synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions have accumulated. Among them, synonymous substitutions were regarded as "silent" mutations that received less attention than nonsynonymous substitutions that cause amino acid variations. However, the importance of synonymous substitutions can not be neglected. This research focuses on synonymous substitutions on SARS-CoV-2 and proves that synonymous substitutions were under purifying selection in its evolution. The evidence of purifying selection is provided by comparing the mutation number per site in coding and non-coding regions. We then study the two forces of purifying selection: synonymous codon usage and RNA secondary structure. Results show that the codon usage optimization leads to an adapted codon usage towards humans. Furthermore, our results show that the maintenance of RNA secondary structure causes the purifying of synonymous substitutions in the structural region. These results explain the selection pressure on synonymous substitutions during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoxiang Bai
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China; Bioinformatics Center, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Galal Ata
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China; Bioinformatics Center, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Qing Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China; Bioinformatics Center, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Siddiq Ur Rahman
- Department of Computer Science and Bioinformatics, Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
| | - Shiheng Tao
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China; Bioinformatics Center, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Nakamura A, Kotaki T, Nagai Y, Takazawa S, Tokunaga K, Kameoka M. Construction and evaluation of a self-replicative RNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 using yellow fever virus replicon. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274829. [PMID: 36264936 PMCID: PMC9584447 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a global threat. To forestall the pandemic, developing safe and effective vaccines is necessary. Because of the rapid production and little effect on the host genome, mRNA vaccines are attractive, but they have a relatively low immune response after a single dose. Replicon RNA (repRNA) is a promising vaccine platform for safety and efficacy. RepRNA vaccine encodes not only antigen genes but also the genes necessary for RNA replication. Thus, repRNA is self-replicative and can play the role of an adjuvant by itself, which elicits robust immunity. This study constructed and evaluated a repRNA vaccine in which the gene encoding the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 was inserted into a replicon of yellow fever virus 17D strain. Upon electroporation of this repRNA into baby hamster kidney cells, the S protein and yellow fever virus protein were co-expressed. Additionally, the self-replication ability of repRNA vaccine was confirmed using qRT-PCR, demonstrating its potency as a vaccine. Immunization of C57BL/6 mice with 1 μg of the repRNA vaccine induced specific T-cell responses but not antibody responses. Notably, the T-cell response induced by the repRNA vaccine was significantly higher than that induced by the nonreplicative RNA vaccine in our experimental model. In the future, it is of the essence to optimize vaccine administration methods and improve S protein expression, like protection of repRNA by nanoparticles and evasion of innate immunity of the host to enhance the immune-inducing ability of the repRNA vaccine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Akina Nakamura
- Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kotaki
- Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- * E-mail: (TK); (MK)
| | - Yurie Nagai
- Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan
| | - Shunta Takazawa
- Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan
| | - Kenzo Tokunaga
- Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masanori Kameoka
- Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan
- * E-mail: (TK); (MK)
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Progress Report: Antimicrobial Drug Discovery in the Resistance Era. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15040413. [PMID: 35455410 PMCID: PMC9030565 DOI: 10.3390/ph15040413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance continues to be a most serious threat to public health. This situation demands that the scientific community increase their efforts for the discovery of alternative strategies to circumvent the problems associated with conventional small molecule therapeutics. The Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) Report (published in June 2021) discloses the rapidly increasing number of bacterial infections that are mainly caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. These concerns have initiated various government agencies and other organizations to educate the public regarding the appropriate use of antibiotics. This review discusses a brief highlight on the timeline of antimicrobial drug discovery with a special emphasis on the historical development of antimicrobial resistance. In addition, new antimicrobial targets and approaches, recent developments in drug screening, design, and delivery were covered. This review also discusses the emergence and roles of various antibiotic adjuvants and combination therapies while shedding light on current challenges and future perspectives. Overall, the emergence of resistant microbial strains has challenged drug discovery but their efforts to develop alternative technologies such as nanomaterials seem to be promising for the future.
Collapse
|
7
|
Mogro EG, Bottero D, Lozano MJ. Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 synonymous codon usage evolution throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Virology 2022; 568:56-71. [PMID: 35134624 PMCID: PMC8808327 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2022.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans, can cause severe life-threatening respiratory pathologies. To better understand SARS-CoV-2 evolution, genome-wide analyses have been made, including the general characterization of its codons usage profile. Here we present a bioinformatic analysis of the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 codon usage over time using complete genomes collected since December 2019. Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 codon usage pattern is antagonistic to, and it is getting farther away from that of the human host. Further, a selection of deoptimized codons over time, which was accompanied by a decrease in both the codon adaptation index and the effective number of codons, was observed. All together, these findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 could be evolving, at least from the perspective of the synonymous codon usage, to become less pathogenic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ezequiel G Mogro
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), CONICET, CCT-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina
| | - Daniela Bottero
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), CONICET, CCT-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina
| | - Mauricio J Lozano
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), CONICET, CCT-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|