1
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Shum MHH, Lee Y, Tam L, Xia H, Chung OLW, Guo Z, Lam TTY. Binding affinity between coronavirus spike protein and human ACE2 receptor. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:759-770. [PMID: 38304547 PMCID: PMC10831124 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs) pose a major risk to global public health due to their ability to infect diverse animal species and potential for emergence in humans. The CoV spike protein mediates viral entry into the cell and plays a crucial role in determining the binding affinity to host cell receptors. With particular emphasis on α- and β-coronaviruses that infect humans and domestic animals, current research on CoV receptor use suggests that the exploitation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor poses a significant threat for viral emergence with pandemic potential. This review summarizes the approaches used to study binding interactions between CoV spike proteins and the human ACE2 (hACE2) receptor. Solid-phase enzyme immunoassays and cell binding assays allow qualitative assessment of binding but lack quantitative evaluation of affinity. Surface plasmon resonance, Bio-layer interferometry, and Microscale Thermophoresis on the other hand, provide accurate affinity measurement through equilibrium dissociation constants (KD). In silico modeling predicts affinity through binding structure modeling, protein-protein docking simulations, and binding energy calculations but reveals inconsistent results due to the lack of a standardized approach. Machine learning and deep learning models utilize simulated and experimental protein-protein interaction data to elucidate the critical residues associated with CoV binding affinity to hACE2. Further optimization and standardization of existing approaches for studying binding affinity could aid pandemic preparedness. Specifically, prioritizing surveillance of CoVs that can bind to human receptors stands to mitigate the risk of zoonotic spillover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Ho-Hin Shum
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yang Lee
- School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Centre for Immunology and Infection (C2i), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, China
| | - Leighton Tam
- School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hui Xia
- Department of Chemistry, South University of Science and Technology of China, China
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Oscar Lung-Wa Chung
- Department of Chemistry, South University of Science and Technology of China, China
| | - Zhihong Guo
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Tommy Tsan-Yuk Lam
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, China
- Centre for Immunology and Infection (C2i), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, China
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2
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Hasan M, He Z, Jia M, Leung ACF, Natarajan K, Xu W, Yap S, Zhou F, Chen S, Su H, Zhu K, Su H. Dynamic expedition of leading mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:2407-2417. [PMID: 38882678 PMCID: PMC11176665 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.05.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which caused the recent pandemic, has generated countless new variants with varying fitness. Mutations of the spike glycoprotein play a particularly vital role in shaping its evolutionary trajectory, as they have the capability to alter its infectivity and antigenicity. We present a time-resolved statistical method, Dynamic Expedition of Leading Mutations (deLemus), to analyze the evolutionary dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. The proposed L -index of the deLemus method is effective in quantifying the mutation strength of each amino acid site and outlining evolutionarily significant sites, allowing the comprehensive characterization of the evolutionary mutation pattern of the spike glycoprotein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Hasan
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhouyi He
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengqi Jia
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Alvin C F Leung
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
- Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Wentao Xu
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shanqi Yap
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shihong Chen
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hailei Su
- Bengbu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 4339 Huai-shang Road, Anhui 233080, China
| | - Kaicheng Zhu
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Haibin Su
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
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3
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Chandy S, Kumar H, Pearl S, Basu S, M G, Sankar J, Manoharan A, Ramaiah S, Anbarasu A. Whole genome analysis reveals unique traits of SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric patients. Gene 2024; 919:148508. [PMID: 38670399 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148508] [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: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to challenge the global healthcare with emerging variants and higher infectivity as well as morbidities. This study investigated potential age-related variations through genomic characterization of the virus under common clinical settings. A cohort comprising 71 SARS-CoV-2 strains from both infected infants and accompanying adults, diagnosed via RT-PCR at a tertiary pediatric hospital and research center, underwent Illumina paired-end sequencing. The subsequent analysis involved standard genomic screening, phylogeny construction, and mutational analyses. The analyzed SARSCoV- 2 strains were compared with globally circulating variants. The overall distribution revealed 67.61 % Delta, 25.7 % Omicron, and 1 % either Kappa or Alpha variants. In 2021, Delta predominated at ∼ 94 %, with Alpha/Kappa accounting for around 5 %. However, in 2022, over 94 % of the samples were Omicron variants, signifying a substantial shift from Delta dominance. Delta variants constituted 69.5 % of infections in adults and 78.5 % in infants, while Omicron variants were responsible for 31 % of cases in infants and 18 % in adults. The Spike region harbored the majority of mutations, with T19R being the most prevalent mutation in the Delta lineage. Notably, the frequencies of this mutation varied between infants and adults. In Omicron samples, G142D emerged as the most prevalent mutation. Our dataset predominantly featured clade 21A and lineage B.1.617.2. This study underscores the differential clinical presentations and genomic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric patients and accompanying adults. Understanding the dynamic evolution of the SARS- CoV-2 in both pediatric and adults can help in strengthening prophylactic measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Chandy
- The CHILDS Trust Medical Research Foundation (CTMRF), 12-A, Nageswara Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Hithesh Kumar
- Department of Bio-Sciences, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, India; Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, SBST, VIT, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Sara Pearl
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, SBST, VIT, Vellore 632014, India; Department of Integrative Biology, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, India
| | - Soumya Basu
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, SBST, VIT, Vellore 632014, India; Department of Biotechnology, NIST University, Berhampore 761008, India
| | - Gurumoorthy M
- The CHILDS Trust Medical Research Foundation (CTMRF), 12-A, Nageswara Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Janani Sankar
- The CHILDS Trust Medical Research Foundation (CTMRF), 12-A, Nageswara Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Anand Manoharan
- Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital (KKCTH), 12-A, Nageswara Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sudha Ramaiah
- Department of Bio-Sciences, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, India; Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, SBST, VIT, Vellore 632014, India
| | - Anand Anbarasu
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, SBST, VIT, Vellore 632014, India; Department of Biotechnology, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, India.
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4
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Colom MS, Vučinić J, Adolf‐Bryfogle J, Bowman JW, Verel S, Moczygemba I, Schiex T, Simoncini D, Bahl CD. Complete combinatorial mutational enumeration of a protein functional site enables sequence-landscape mapping and identifies highly-mutated variants that retain activity. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5109. [PMID: 38989563 PMCID: PMC11237556 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how proteins evolve under selective pressure is a longstanding challenge. The immensity of the search space has limited efforts to systematically evaluate the impact of multiple simultaneous mutations, so mutations have typically been assessed individually. However, epistasis, or the way in which mutations interact, prevents accurate prediction of combinatorial mutations based on measurements of individual mutations. Here, we use artificial intelligence to define the entire functional sequence landscape of a protein binding site in silico, and we call this approach Complete Combinatorial Mutational Enumeration (CCME). By leveraging CCME, we are able to construct a comprehensive map of the evolutionary connectivity within this functional sequence landscape. As a proof of concept, we applied CCME to the ACE2 binding site of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain. We selected representative variants from across the functional sequence landscape for testing in the laboratory. We identified variants that retained functionality to bind ACE2 despite changing over 40% of evaluated residue positions, and the variants now escape binding and neutralization by monoclonal antibodies. This work represents a crucial initial stride toward achieving precise predictions of pathogen evolution, opening avenues for proactive mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Solà Colom
- Institute for Protein InnovationBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Division of Hematology/OncologyBoston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Present address:
AI ProteinsBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Jelena Vučinić
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse, IRIT UMR 5505, ANITI, Université Toulouse CapitoleToulouseFrance
| | - Jared Adolf‐Bryfogle
- Institute for Protein InnovationBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Division of Hematology/OncologyBoston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - James W. Bowman
- Institute for Protein InnovationBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Division of Hematology/OncologyBoston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Present address:
AI ProteinsBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | | | - Isabelle Moczygemba
- Institute for Protein InnovationBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Division of Hematology/OncologyBoston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Present address:
AI ProteinsBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Thomas Schiex
- MIAT, Université Fédérale de Toulouse, ANITI, INRAE UR 875ToulouseFrance
| | - David Simoncini
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse, IRIT UMR 5505, ANITI, Université Toulouse CapitoleToulouseFrance
| | - Christopher D. Bahl
- Institute for Protein InnovationBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Division of Hematology/OncologyBoston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Present address:
AI ProteinsBostonMassachusettsUSA
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5
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Li P, Liu ZP. MuToN Quantifies Binding Affinity Changes upon Protein Mutations by Geometric Deep Learning. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024:e2402918. [PMID: 38995072 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202402918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Assessing changes in protein-protein binding affinity due to mutations helps understanding a wide range of crucial biological processes within cells. Despite significant efforts to create accurate computational models, predicting how mutations affect affinity remains challenging due to the complexity of the biological mechanisms involved. In the present work, a geometric deep learning framework called MuToN is introduced for quantifying protein binding affinity change upon residue mutations. The method, designed with geometric attention networks, is mechanism-aware. It captures changes in the protein binding interfaces of mutated complexes and assesses the allosteric effects of amino acids. Experimental results highlight MuToN's superiority compared to existing methods. Additionally, MuToN's flexibility and effectiveness are illustrated by its precise predictions of binding affinity changes between SARS-CoV-2 variants and the ACE2 complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengpai Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250061, China
| | - Zhi-Ping Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250061, China
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6
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Wirnsberger G, Pritišanac I, Oberdorfer G, Gruber K. Flattening the curve-How to get better results with small deep-mutational-scanning datasets. Proteins 2024; 92:886-902. [PMID: 38501649 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Proteins are used in various biotechnological applications, often requiring the optimization of protein properties by introducing specific amino-acid exchanges. Deep mutational scanning (DMS) is an effective high-throughput method for evaluating the effects of these exchanges on protein function. DMS data can then inform the training of a neural network to predict the impact of mutations. Most approaches use some representation of the protein sequence for training and prediction. As proteins are characterized by complex structures and intricate residue interaction networks, directly providing structural information as input reduces the need to learn these features from the data. We introduce a method for encoding protein structures as stacked 2D contact maps, which capture residue interactions, their evolutionary conservation, and mutation-induced interaction changes. Furthermore, we explored techniques to augment neural network training performance on smaller DMS datasets. To validate our approach, we trained three neural network architectures originally used for image analysis on three DMS datasets, and we compared their performances with networks trained solely on protein sequences. The results confirm the effectiveness of the protein structure encoding in machine learning efforts on DMS data. Using structural representations as direct input to the networks, along with data augmentation and pretraining, significantly reduced demands on training data size and improved prediction performance, especially on smaller datasets, while performance on large datasets was on par with state-of-the-art sequence convolutional neural networks. The methods presented here have the potential to provide the same workflow as DMS without the experimental and financial burden of testing thousands of mutants. Additionally, we present an open-source, user-friendly software tool to make these data analysis techniques accessible, particularly to biotechnology and protein engineering researchers who wish to apply them to their mutagenesis data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Iva Pritišanac
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Gustav Oberdorfer
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | - Karl Gruber
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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7
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McDonnell AF, Plech M, Livesey BJ, Gerasimavicius L, Owen LJ, Hall HN, FitzPatrick DR, Marsh JA, Kudla G. Deep mutational scanning quantifies DNA binding and predicts clinical outcomes of PAX6 variants. Mol Syst Biol 2024; 20:825-844. [PMID: 38849565 PMCID: PMC11219921 DOI: 10.1038/s44320-024-00043-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Nonsense and missense mutations in the transcription factor PAX6 cause a wide range of eye development defects, including aniridia, microphthalmia and coloboma. To understand how changes of PAX6:DNA binding cause these phenotypes, we combined saturation mutagenesis of the paired domain of PAX6 with a yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assay in which expression of a PAX6-GAL4 fusion gene drives antibiotic resistance. We quantified binding of more than 2700 single amino-acid variants to two DNA sequence elements. Mutations in DNA-facing residues of the N-terminal subdomain and linker region were most detrimental, as were mutations to prolines and to negatively charged residues. Many variants caused sequence-specific molecular gain-of-function effects, including variants in position 71 that increased binding to the LE9 enhancer but decreased binding to a SELEX-derived binding site. In the absence of antibiotic selection, variants that retained DNA binding slowed yeast growth, likely because such variants perturbed the yeast transcriptome. Benchmarking against known patient variants and applying ACMG/AMP guidelines to variant classification, we obtained supporting-to-moderate evidence that 977 variants are likely pathogenic and 1306 are likely benign. Our analysis shows that most pathogenic mutations in the paired domain of PAX6 can be explained simply by the effects of these mutations on PAX6:DNA association, and establishes Y1H as a generalisable assay for the interpretation of variant effects in transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander F McDonnell
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Marcin Plech
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Benjamin J Livesey
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Lukas Gerasimavicius
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Liusaidh J Owen
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Hildegard Nikki Hall
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - David R FitzPatrick
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Joseph A Marsh
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Grzegorz Kudla
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
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8
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McCallum M, Park YJ, Stewart C, Sprouse KR, Addetia A, Brown J, Tortorici MA, Gibson C, Wong E, Ieven M, Telenti A, Veesler D. Human coronavirus HKU1 recognition of the TMPRSS2 host receptor. Cell 2024:S0092-8674(24)00646-9. [PMID: 38964328 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
The human coronavirus HKU1 spike (S) glycoprotein engages host cell surface sialoglycans and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) to initiate infection. The molecular basis of HKU1 binding to TMPRSS2 and determinants of host receptor tropism remain elusive. We designed an active human TMPRSS2 construct enabling high-yield recombinant production in human cells of this key therapeutic target. We determined a cryo-electron microscopy structure of the HKU1 RBD bound to human TMPRSS2, providing a blueprint of the interactions supporting viral entry and explaining the specificity for TMPRSS2 among orthologous proteases. We identified TMPRSS2 orthologs from five mammalian orders promoting HKU1 S-mediated entry into cells along with key residues governing host receptor usage. Our data show that the TMPRSS2 binding motif is a site of vulnerability to neutralizing antibodies and suggest that HKU1 uses S conformational masking and glycan shielding to balance immune evasion and receptor engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew McCallum
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Young-Jun Park
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Cameron Stewart
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kaitlin R Sprouse
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Amin Addetia
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jack Brown
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Cecily Gibson
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Emily Wong
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Margareta Ieven
- Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - David Veesler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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9
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Gurusinghe SNS, Wu Y, DeGrado W, Shifman JM. ProBASS - a language model with sequence and structural features for predicting the effect of mutations on binding affinity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.21.600041. [PMID: 38979193 PMCID: PMC11230163 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.21.600041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) govern virtually all cellular processes. Even a single mutation within PPI can significantly influence overall protein functionality and potentially lead to various types of diseases. To date, numerous approaches have emerged for predicting the change in free energy of binding (ΔΔG bind ) resulting from mutations, yet the majority of these methods lack precision. In recent years, protein language models (PLMs) have been developed and shown powerful predictive capabilities by leveraging both sequence and structural data from protein-protein complexes. Yet, PLMs have not been optimized specifically for predicting ΔΔG bind . We developed an approach to predict effects of mutations on PPI binding affinity based on two most advanced protein language models ESM2 and ESM-IF1 that incorporate PPI sequence and structural features, respectively. We used the two models to generate embeddings for each PPI mutant and subsequently fine-tuned our model by training on a large dataset of experimental ΔΔG bind values. Our model, ProBASS (Protein Binding Affinity from Structure and Sequence) achieved a correlation with experimental ΔΔG bind values of 0.83 ± 0.05 for single mutations and 0.69 ± 0.04 for double mutations when model training and testing was done on the same PDB. Moreover, ProBASS exhibited very high correlation (0.81 ± 0.02) between prediction and experiment when training and testing was performed on a dataset containing 2325 single mutations in 132 PPIs. ProBASS surpasses the state-of-the-art methods in correlation with experimental data and could be further trained as more experimental data becomes available. Our results demonstrate that the integration of extensive datasets containing ΔΔG bind values across multiple PPIs to refine the pre-trained PLMs represents a successful approach for achieving a precise and broadly applicable model for ΔΔG bind prediction, greatly facilitating future protein engineering and design studies.
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10
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Raisinghani N, Alshahrani M, Gupta G, Xiao S, Tao P, Verkhivker G. Exploring conformational landscapes and binding mechanisms of convergent evolution for the SARS-CoV-2 spike Omicron variant complexes with the ACE2 receptor using AlphaFold2-based structural ensembles and molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:17720-17744. [PMID: 38869513 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp01372g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we combined AlphaFold-based approaches for atomistic modeling of multiple protein states and microsecond molecular simulations to accurately characterize conformational ensembles evolution and binding mechanisms of convergent evolution for the SARS-CoV-2 spike Omicron variants BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.75, BA.3, BA.4/BA.5 and BQ.1.1. We employed and validated several different adaptations of the AlphaFold methodology for modeling of conformational ensembles including the introduced randomized full sequence scanning for manipulation of sequence variations to systematically explore conformational dynamics of Omicron spike protein complexes with the ACE2 receptor. Microsecond atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide a detailed characterization of the conformational landscapes and thermodynamic stability of the Omicron variant complexes. By integrating the predictions of conformational ensembles from different AlphaFold adaptations and applying statistical confidence metrics we can expand characterization of the conformational ensembles and identify functional protein conformations that determine the equilibrium dynamics for the Omicron spike complexes with the ACE2. Conformational ensembles of the Omicron RBD-ACE2 complexes obtained using AlphaFold-based approaches for modeling protein states and MD simulations are employed for accurate comparative prediction of the binding energetics revealing an excellent agreement with the experimental data. In particular, the results demonstrated that AlphaFold-generated extended conformational ensembles can produce accurate binding energies for the Omicron RBD-ACE2 complexes. The results of this study suggested complementarities and potential synergies between AlphaFold predictions of protein conformational ensembles and MD simulations showing that integrating information from both methods can potentially yield a more adequate characterization of the conformational landscapes for the Omicron RBD-ACE2 complexes. This study provides insights in the interplay between conformational dynamics and binding, showing that evolution of Omicron variants through acquisition of convergent mutational sites may leverage conformational adaptability and dynamic couplings between key binding energy hotspots to optimize ACE2 binding affinity and enable immune evasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nishank Raisinghani
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA.
| | - Mohammed Alshahrani
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA.
| | - Grace Gupta
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA.
| | - Sian Xiao
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Research Computing, Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery (CD4), Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 75275, USA
| | - Peng Tao
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Research Computing, Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery (CD4), Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 75275, USA
| | - Gennady Verkhivker
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA.
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
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11
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Posfai A, Zhou J, McCandlish DM, Kinney JB. Gauge fixing for sequence-function relationships. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.12.593772. [PMID: 38798671 PMCID: PMC11118547 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.12.593772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Quantitative models of sequence-function relationships are ubiquitous in computational biology, e.g., for modeling the DNA binding of transcription factors or the fitness landscapes of proteins. Interpreting these models, however, is complicated by the fact that the values of model parameters can often be changed without affecting model predictions. Before the values of model parameters can be meaningfully interpreted, one must remove these degrees of freedom (called "gauge freedoms" in physics) by imposing additional constraints (a process called "fixing the gauge"). However, strategies for fixing the gauge of sequence-function relationships have received little attention. Here we derive an analytically tractable family of gauges for a large class of sequence-function relationships. These gauges are derived in the context of models with all-order interactions, but an important subset of these gauges can be applied to diverse types of models, including additive models, pairwise-interaction models, and models with higher-order interactions. Many commonly used gauges are special cases of gauges within this family. We demonstrate the utility of this family of gauges by showing how different choices of gauge can be used both to explore complex activity landscapes and to reveal simplified models that are approximately correct within localized regions of sequence space. The results provide practical gauge-fixing strategies and demonstrate the utility of gauge-fixing for model exploration and interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Posfai
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 11724
| | - Juannan Zhou
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 11724
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611
| | - David M McCandlish
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 11724
| | - Justin B Kinney
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 11724
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12
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Bendel AM, Skendo K, Klein D, Shimada K, Kauneckaite-Griguole K, Diss G. Optimization of a deep mutational scanning workflow to improve quantification of mutation effects on protein-protein interactions. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:630. [PMID: 38914936 PMCID: PMC11194945 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10524-7] [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: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Deep Mutational Scanning (DMS) assays are powerful tools to study sequence-function relationships by measuring the effects of thousands of sequence variants on protein function. During a DMS experiment, several technical artefacts might distort non-linearly the functional score obtained, potentially biasing the interpretation of the results. We therefore tested several technical parameters in the deepPCA workflow, a DMS assay for protein-protein interactions, in order to identify technical sources of non-linearities. We found that parameters common to many DMS assays such as amount of transformed DNA, timepoint of harvest and library composition can cause non-linearities in the data. Designing experiments in a way to minimize these non-linear effects will improve the quantification and interpretation of mutation effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Bendel
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Dominique Klein
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kenji Shimada
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kotryna Kauneckaite-Griguole
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Guillaume Diss
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel, Switzerland.
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13
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Sheward DJ, Pushparaj P, Das H, Greaney AJ, Kim C, Kim S, Hanke L, Hyllner E, Dyrdak R, Lee J, Dopico XC, Dosenovic P, Peacock TP, McInerney GM, Albert J, Corcoran M, Bloom JD, Murrell B, Karlsson Hedestam GB, Hällberg BM. Structural basis of broad SARS-CoV-2 cross-neutralization by affinity-matured public antibodies. Cell Rep Med 2024; 5:101577. [PMID: 38761799 PMCID: PMC11228396 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101577] [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: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Descendants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant now account for almost all SARS-CoV-2 infections. The Omicron variant and its sublineages have spike glycoproteins that are highly diverged from the pandemic founder and first-generation vaccine strain, resulting in significant evasion from monoclonal antibody therapeutics and vaccines. Understanding how commonly elicited antibodies can broaden to cross-neutralize escape variants is crucial. We isolate IGHV3-53, using "public" monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from an individual 7 months post infection with the ancestral virus and identify antibodies that exhibit potent and broad cross-neutralization, extending to the BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/BA.5 sublineages of Omicron. Deep mutational scanning reveals these mAbs' high resistance to viral escape. Structural analysis via cryoelectron microscopy of a representative broadly neutralizing antibody, CAB-A17, in complex with the Omicron BA.1 spike highlights the structural underpinnings of this broad neutralization. By reintroducing somatic hypermutations into a germline-reverted CAB-A17, we delineate the role of affinity maturation in the development of cross-neutralization by a public class of antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Sheward
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Medical Virology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Pradeepa Pushparaj
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hrishikesh Das
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Allison J Greaney
- Basic Sciences Division and Computational Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Changil Kim
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sungyong Kim
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Leo Hanke
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Erik Hyllner
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Robert Dyrdak
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jimin Lee
- Basic Sciences Division and Computational Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Xaquin Castro Dopico
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pia Dosenovic
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thomas P Peacock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Gerald M McInerney
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Albert
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Corcoran
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesse D Bloom
- Basic Sciences Division and Computational Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Ben Murrell
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | | | - B Martin Hällberg
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) and Karolinska Institutet VR-RÅC, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
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14
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Focosi D, Franchini M, Maggi F, Shoham S. COVID-19 therapeutics. Clin Microbiol Rev 2024; 37:e0011923. [PMID: 38771027 PMCID: PMC11237566 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00119-23] [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] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYSince the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, an unprecedented range of therapeutic options has been studied and deployed. Healthcare providers have multiple treatment approaches to choose from, but efficacy of those approaches often remains controversial or compromised by viral evolution. Uncertainties still persist regarding the best therapies for high-risk patients, and the drug pipeline is suffering fatigue and shortage of funding. In this article, we review the antiviral activity, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, and safety of COVID-19 antiviral therapies. Additionally, we summarize the evidence from randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of the various COVID-19 antivirals and discuss unmet needs which should be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Focosi
- North-Western Tuscany Blood Bank, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy
| | - Massimo Franchini
- Division of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, Carlo Poma Hospital, Mantua, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Maggi
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani" IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Shmuel Shoham
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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15
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Ornelas MY, Ouyang WO, Wu NC. A library-on-library screen reveals the breadth expansion landscape of a broadly neutralizing betacoronavirus antibody. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.06.597810. [PMID: 38915656 PMCID: PMC11195093 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.06.597810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) typically evolve cross-reactivity breadth through acquiring somatic hypermutations. While evolution of breadth requires improvement of binding to multiple antigenic variants, most experimental evolution platforms select against only one antigenic variant at a time. In this study, a yeast display library-on-library approach was applied to delineate the affinity maturation of a betacoronavirus bnAb, S2P6, against 27 spike stem helix peptides in a single experiment. Our results revealed that the binding affinity landscape of S2P6 varies among different stem helix peptides. However, somatic hypermutations that confer general improvement in binding affinity across different stem helix peptides could also be identified. We further showed that a key somatic hypermutation for breadth expansion involves long-range interaction. Overall, our work not only provides a proof-of-concept for using a library-on-library approach to analyze the evolution of antibody breadth, but also has important implications for the development of broadly protective vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marya Y. Ornelas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Wenhao O. Ouyang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Nicholas C. Wu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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16
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Wang Y, Shen Z, Chen R, Chi X, Li W, Xu D, Lu Y, Ding J, Dong X, Zheng X. Discovery and characterization of novel FGFR1 inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer via hybrid virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations. Bioorg Chem 2024; 150:107553. [PMID: 38901279 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2024] [Revised: 06/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
The overexpression of FGFR1 is thought to significantly contribute to the progression of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), impacting aspects such as tumorigenesis, growth, metastasis, and drug resistance. Consequently, the pursuit of effective inhibitors for FGFR1 is a key area of research interest. In response to this need, our study developed a hybrid virtual screening method. Utilizing KarmaDock, an innovative algorithm that blends deep learning with molecular docking, alongside Schrödinger's Residue Scanning. This strategy led us to identify compound 6, which demonstrated promising FGFR1 inhibitory activity, evidenced by an IC50 value of approximately 0.24 nM in the HTRF bioassay. Further evaluation revealed that this compound also inhibits the FGFR1 V561M variant with an IC50 value around 1.24 nM. Our subsequent investigations demonstrate that Compound 6 robustly suppresses the migration and invasion capacities of TNBC cell lines, through the downregulation of p-FGFR1 and modulation of EMT markers, highlighting its promise as a potent anti-metastatic therapeutic agent. Additionally, our use of molecular dynamics simulations provided a deeper understanding of the compound's specific binding interactions with FGFR1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Novel Targets and Drug Study for Neural Repair of Zhejiang Province, School of Medicine, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China; Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zheyuan Shen
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Roufen Chen
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xinglong Chi
- Affiliated Yongkang First People's Hospital and School of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenjie Li
- Key Laboratory of Novel Targets and Drug Study for Neural Repair of Zhejiang Province, School of Medicine, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China
| | - Donghang Xu
- Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yan Lu
- Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jianjun Ding
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xiaowu Dong
- Hangzhou Institute of Innovative Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Xiaoli Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Novel Targets and Drug Study for Neural Repair of Zhejiang Province, School of Medicine, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China.
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17
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Shempela DM, Chambaro HM, Sikalima J, Cham F, Njuguna M, Morrison L, Mudenda S, Chanda D, Kasanga M, Daka V, Kwenda G, Musonda K, Munsaka S, Chilengi R, Sichinga K, Simulundu E. Detection and Characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 in Eastern Province of Zambia: A Retrospective Genomic Surveillance Study. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6338. [PMID: 38928045 PMCID: PMC11203853 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126338] [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: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Mutations have driven the evolution and development of new variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with potential implications for increased transmissibility, disease severity and vaccine escape among others. Genome sequencing is a technique that allows scientists to read the genetic code of an organism and has become a powerful tool for studying emerging infectious diseases. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional study in selected districts of the Eastern Province of Zambia, from November 2021 to February 2022. We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 samples (n = 76) using high-throughput sequencing. A total of 4097 mutations were identified in 69 SARS-CoV-2 genomes with 47% (1925/4097) of the mutations occurring in the spike protein. We identified 83 unique amino acid mutations in the spike protein of the seven Omicron sublineages (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.1.14, BA.1.18, BA.1.21, BA.2, BA.2.23 and XT). Of these, 43.4% (36/83) were present in the receptor binding domain, while 14.5% (12/83) were in the receptor binding motif. While we identified a potential recombinant XT strain, the highly transmissible BA.2 sublineage was more predominant (40.8%). We observed the substitution of other variants with the Omicron strain in the Eastern Province. This work shows the importance of pandemic preparedness and the need to monitor disease in the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Herman M. Chambaro
- Virology Unit, Central Veterinary Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Lusaka 10101, Zambia;
| | - Jay Sikalima
- Churches Health Association of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (J.S.); (K.S.)
| | - Fatim Cham
- Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), 1201 Geneva, Switzerland; (F.C.); (M.N.); (L.M.)
| | - Michael Njuguna
- Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), 1201 Geneva, Switzerland; (F.C.); (M.N.); (L.M.)
| | - Linden Morrison
- Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), 1201 Geneva, Switzerland; (F.C.); (M.N.); (L.M.)
| | - Steward Mudenda
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia;
| | - Duncan Chanda
- University Teaching Hospital, Ministry of Health, Lusaka 10101, Zambia;
| | - Maisa Kasanga
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China;
| | - Victor Daka
- Public Health Department, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Copperbelt University, Ndola 21692, Zambia;
| | - Geoffrey Kwenda
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (G.K.); (S.M.)
| | - Kunda Musonda
- Zambia National Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (K.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Sody Munsaka
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (G.K.); (S.M.)
| | - Roma Chilengi
- Zambia National Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (K.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Karen Sichinga
- Churches Health Association of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia; (J.S.); (K.S.)
| | - Edgar Simulundu
- Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
- Macha Research Trust, Choma 20100, Zambia
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18
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Bruun TU, Do J, Weidenbacher PAB, Kim PS. Engineering a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine targeting the RBD cryptic-face via immunofocusing. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.05.597541. [PMID: 38895327 PMCID: PMC11185595 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.597541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Although they are infrequently elicited during infection or vaccination, antibodies that bind to the conformation-specific cryptic face of the RBD display remarkable breadth of binding and neutralization across Sarbecoviruses. Here, we employed the immunofocusing technique PMD (protect, modify, deprotect) to create RBD immunogens (PMD-RBD) specifically designed to focus the antibody response towards the cryptic-face epitope recognized by the broadly neutralizing antibody S2X259. Immunization with PMD-RBD antigens induced robust binding titers and broad neutralizing activity against homologous and heterologous Sarbecovirus strains. A serum-depletion assay provided direct evidence that PMD successfully skewed the polyclonal antibody response towards the cryptic face of the RBD. Our work demonstrates the ability of PMD to overcome immunodominance and refocus humoral immunity, with implications for the development of broader and more resilient vaccines against current and emerging viruses with pandemic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodora U.J. Bruun
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Jonathan Do
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Payton A.-B. Weidenbacher
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Peter S. Kim
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158
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19
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Liu Z, Gillis TG, Raman S, Cui Q. A parameterized two-domain thermodynamic model explains diverse mutational effects on protein allostery. eLife 2024; 12:RP92262. [PMID: 38836839 PMCID: PMC11152574 DOI: 10.7554/elife.92262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
New experimental findings continue to challenge our understanding of protein allostery. Recent deep mutational scanning study showed that allosteric hotspots in the tetracycline repressor (TetR) and its homologous transcriptional factors are broadly distributed rather than spanning well-defined structural pathways as often assumed. Moreover, hotspot mutation-induced allostery loss was rescued by distributed additional mutations in a degenerate fashion. Here, we develop a two-domain thermodynamic model for TetR, which readily rationalizes these intriguing observations. The model accurately captures the in vivo activities of various mutants with changes in physically transparent parameters, allowing the data-based quantification of mutational effects using statistical inference. Our analysis reveals the intrinsic connection of intra- and inter-domain properties for allosteric regulation and illustrate epistatic interactions that are consistent with structural features of the protein. The insights gained from this study into the nature of two-domain allostery are expected to have broader implications for other multi-domain allosteric proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuang Liu
- Department of Physics, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Thomas G Gillis
- Department of Biochemistry, University of WisconsinMadisonUnited States
| | - Srivatsan Raman
- Department of Biochemistry, University of WisconsinMadisonUnited States
- Department of Chemistry, University of WisconsinMadisonUnited States
- Department of Bacteriology, University of WisconsinMadisonUnited States
| | - Qiang Cui
- Department of Physics, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Chemistry, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
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20
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Wang D, Huot M, Mohanty V, Shakhnovich EI. Biophysical principles predict fitness of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314518121. [PMID: 38820002 PMCID: PMC11161772 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314518121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 employs its spike protein's receptor binding domain (RBD) to enter host cells. The RBD is constantly subjected to immune responses, while requiring efficient binding to host cell receptors for successful infection. However, our understanding of how RBD's biophysical properties contribute to SARS-CoV-2's epidemiological fitness remains largely incomplete. Through a comprehensive approach, comprising large-scale sequence analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the identification of a fitness function based on binding thermodynamics, we unravel the relationship between the biophysical properties of RBD variants and their contribution to viral fitness. We developed a biophysical model that uses statistical mechanics to map the molecular phenotype space, characterized by dissociation constants of RBD to ACE2, LY-CoV016, LY-CoV555, REGN10987, and S309, onto an epistatic fitness landscape. We validate our findings through experimentally measured and machine learning (ML) estimated binding affinities, coupled with infectivity data derived from population-level sequencing. Our analysis reveals that this model effectively predicts the fitness of novel RBD variants and can account for the epistatic interactions among mutations, including explaining the later reversal of Q493R. Our study sheds light on the impact of specific mutations on viral fitness and delivers a tool for predicting the future epidemiological trajectory of previously unseen or emerging low-frequency variants. These insights offer not only greater understanding of viral evolution but also potentially aid in guiding public health decisions in the battle against COVID-19 and future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianzhuo Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
| | - Marian Huot
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau91128, France
| | - Vaibhav Mohanty
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Eugene I. Shakhnovich
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
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21
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Lin S, Wang X, Tang RWL, Duan R, Leung KW, Dong TTX, Webb SE, Miller AL, Tsim KWK. Computational Docking as a Tool in Guiding the Drug Design of Rutaecarpine Derivatives as Potential SARS-CoV-2 Inhibitors. Molecules 2024; 29:2636. [PMID: 38893512 PMCID: PMC11173897 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29112636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 continues to spread around the world. This is mainly because new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerge due to genomic mutations, evade the immune system and result in the effectiveness of current therapeutics being reduced. We previously established a series of detection platforms, comprising computational docking analysis, S-protein-based ELISA, pseudovirus entry, and 3CL protease activity assays, which allow us to screen a large library of phytochemicals from natural products and to determine their potential in blocking the entry of SARS-CoV-2. In this new screen, rutaecarpine (an alkaloid from Evodia rutaecarpa) was identified as exhibiting anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Therefore, we conducted multiple rounds of structure-activity-relationship (SAR) studies around this phytochemical and generated several rutaecarpine analogs that were subjected to in vitro evaluations. Among these derivatives, RU-75 and RU-184 displayed remarkable inhibitory activity when tested in the 3CL protease assay, S-protein-based ELISA, and pseudovirus entry assay (for both wild-type and omicron variants), and they attenuated the inflammatory response induced by SARS-CoV-2. Interestingly, RU-75 and RU-184 both appeared to be more potent than rutaecarpine itself, and this suggests that they might be considered as lead candidates for future pharmacological elaboration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengying Lin
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoyang Wang
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Roy Wai-Lun Tang
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ran Duan
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ka Wing Leung
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Tina Ting-Xia Dong
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sarah E. Webb
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Andrew L. Miller
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Karl Wah-Keung Tsim
- Center for Chinese Medicine, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; (S.L.); (X.W.); (R.W.-L.T.); (R.D.); (K.W.L.); (T.T.-X.D.); (S.E.W.); (A.L.M.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
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22
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Cui L, Li T, Xue W, Zhang S, Wang H, Liu H, Gu Y, Xia N, Li S. Comprehensive Overview of Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Variants. Viruses 2024; 16:900. [PMID: 38932192 PMCID: PMC11209230 DOI: 10.3390/v16060900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Currently, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved into various variants, including the numerous highly mutated Omicron sub-lineages, significantly increasing immune evasion ability. The development raises concerns about the possibly diminished effectiveness of available vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics. Here, we describe those representative categories of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that retain prominent effectiveness against emerging variants including Omicron sub-lineages. The molecular characteristics, epitope conservation, and resistance mechanisms of these antibodies are further detailed, aiming to offer suggestion or direction for the development of therapeutic antibodies, and facilitate the design of vaccines with broad-spectrum potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Tingting Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Wenhui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Sibo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Hong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Hongjing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Ying Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Ningshao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Shaowei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China (N.X.)
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Biologic Products, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
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23
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An K, Yang X, Luo M, Yan J, Xu P, Zhang H, Li Y, Wu S, Warshel A, Bai C. Mechanistic study of the transmission pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant. Proteins 2024; 92:705-719. [PMID: 38183172 PMCID: PMC11059747 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
The omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) characterized by 30 mutations in its spike protein, has rapidly spread worldwide since November 2021, significantly exacerbating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In order to investigate the relationship between these mutations and the variant's high transmissibility, we conducted a systematic analysis of the mutational effect on spike-angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) interactions and explored the structural/energy correlation of key mutations, utilizing a reliable coarse-grained model. Our study extended beyond the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike trimer through comprehensive modeling of the full-length spike trimer rather than just the RBD. Our free-energy calculation revealed that the enhanced binding affinity between the spike protein and the ACE2 receptor is correlated with the increased structural stability of the isolated spike protein, thus explaining the omicron variant's heightened transmissibility. The conclusion was supported by our experimental analyses involving the expression and purification of the full-length spike trimer. Furthermore, the energy decomposition analysis established those electrostatic interactions make major contributions to this effect. We categorized the mutations into four groups and established an analytical framework that can be employed in studying future mutations. Additionally, our calculations rationalized the reduced affinity of the omicron variant towards most available therapeutic neutralizing antibodies, when compared with the wild type. By providing concrete experimental data and offering a solid explanation, this study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between theories and observations and lays the foundation for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke An
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, P. R. China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology
- Chenzhu (MoMeD) Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310005, P.R. China
| | - Xianzhi Yang
- Institute of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University (Luohu Hospital Group), Shenzhen 518000, China
| | - Mengqi Luo
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Junfang Yan
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, P. R. China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology
| | - Peiyi Xu
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, P. R. China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology
| | - Honghui Zhang
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, P. R. China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology
| | - Yuqing Li
- Department of Urology, South China Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518116, China
| | - Song Wu
- Department of Urology, South China Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518116, China
| | - Arieh Warshel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1062, United States
| | - Chen Bai
- School of Life and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, P. R. China
- Warshel Institute for Computational Biology
- Chenzhu (MoMeD) Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310005, P.R. China
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24
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Saini S, Pareekh S, Kumar Y. Investigating the structural impact of Omicron RBD mutation on antibody escape and receptor management. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:4668-4678. [PMID: 37334729 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2222174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.1.5291 evolved rapidly in late November 2021 from the existing mutants sparking fear worldwide owing to its infamous immune escape from a varied class of neutralising antibodies. To assess the structural behaviour of Omicron-Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) upon interacting with cross-reactive CR3022 antibody, we investigated the computational approach of structural engagement in B.1.1529 RBD and wild-type RBD with CR3022 antibody. The current study investigates the interacting interface between the RBDs and CR3022 to decipher the key residues accompanying the potential mutational landscape of SARS-CoV-2 variants. We conducted in-silico docking followed by molecular dynamics simulation analysis to examine the dynamic behaviour of protein-protein interactions. Furthermore, the study unleashed possible interactions post energy decomposition analysis via MM-GBSA. Conclusively, the mutational landscape of RBD eases in designing and discovering the effective neutralisation accompanied by development of a universal vaccine.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samvedna Saini
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering (BSE), Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), New Delhi, India
| | - Savita Pareekh
- High Performance Computing (HPC) & AI Innovation Lab, Dell EMC, Bengaluru, India
| | - Yatender Kumar
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering (BSE), Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), New Delhi, India
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25
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Tang X, Liu Y, Wang J, Long T, Yee Mok BW, Huang Y, Peng Z, Jia Q, Liu C, So PK, Pui-Kam Tse S, Hei Ng C, Liu S, Sun F, Tang S, Yao ZP, Chen H, Guo Y. Identifications of novel host cell factors that interact with the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107390. [PMID: 38777146 PMCID: PMC11237930 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107390] [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: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells is facilitated by the interaction between the receptor-binding domain of its spike protein (CoV2-RBD) and host cell receptor, ACE2, promoting viral membrane fusion. The virus also uses endocytic pathways for entry, but the mediating host factors remain largely unknown. It is also unknown whether mutations in the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 variants promote interactions with additional host factors to promote viral entry. Here, we used the GST pull-down approach to identify novel surface-located host factors that bind to CoV2-RBD. One of these factors, SH3BP4, regulates internalization of CoV2-RBD in an ACE2-independent but integrin- and clathrin-dependent manner and mediates SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus entry, suggesting that SH3BP4 promotes viral entry via the endocytic route. Many of the identified factors, including SH3BP4, ADAM9, and TMEM2, show stronger affinity to CoV2-RBD than to RBD of the less infective SARS-CoV, suggesting SARS-CoV-2-specific utilization. We also found factors preferentially binding to the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, potentially enhancing its entry. These data identify the repertoire of host cell surface factors that function in the events leading to the entry of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Tang
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Enzymology and Mechanism of Major Metabolic Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China; Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jinhui Wang
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Teng Long
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics Limited, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Bobo Wing Yee Mok
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics Limited, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yan Huang
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ziqing Peng
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Qinyu Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Research Institute for Future Food, Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chengxi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Research Institute for Future Food, Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Pui-Kin So
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Research Institute for Future Food, Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Sirius Pui-Kam Tse
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Research Institute for Future Food, Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Cheuk Hei Ng
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Shiyi Liu
- Thrust of Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Fei Sun
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Shaojun Tang
- Thrust of Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhong-Ping Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Research Institute for Future Food, Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Honglin Chen
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics Limited, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yusong Guo
- Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China.
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26
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Khairnar K, Tomar SS. COVID-19 genome surveillance: A geographical landscape and mutational mapping of SARS-CoV-2 variants in central India over two years. Virus Res 2024; 344:199365. [PMID: 38527669 PMCID: PMC10998191 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199365] [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: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Reading the viral genome through whole genome sequencing (WGS) enables the detection of changes in the viral genome. The rapid changes in the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome may cause immune escape leading to an increase in the pathogenicity or infectivity. Monitoring mutations through genomic surveillance helps understand the amino acid changes resulting from the mutation. These amino acid changes, especially in the spike glycoprotein, may have implications on the pathogenicity of the virus by rendering it immune-escape. The region of Vidarbha in Maharashtra represents 31.6 % of the state's total area. It holds 21.3 % of the total population. In total, 7457 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples belonging to 16 Indian States were included in the study, out of which 3002 samples passed the sequencing quality control criteria. The metadata of 7457 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples included in the study was sourced from the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). The metadata of 3002 sequenced samples, including the FASTA sequence, was submitted to the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) and the Indian biological data centre (IBDC). This study identified 104 different SARS-CoV-2 pango-lineages classified into 19 clades. We have also analysed the mutation profiles of the variants found in the study, which showed eight mutations of interest, including L18F, K417N, K417T, L452R, S477N, N501Y, P681H, P681R, and mutation of concern E484K in the spike glycoprotein region. The study was from November 2020 to December 2022, making this study the most comprehensive genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 conducted for the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna Khairnar
- Environmental Epidemiology & Pandemic Management (EE&PM), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, UP, India.
| | - Siddharth Singh Tomar
- Environmental Epidemiology & Pandemic Management (EE&PM), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, UP, India
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27
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Daffern N, Johansson KE, Baumer ZT, Robertson NR, Woojuh J, Bedewitz MA, Davis Z, Wheeldon I, Cutler SR, Lindorff-Larsen K, Whitehead TA. GMMA Can Stabilize Proteins Across Different Functional Constraints. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168586. [PMID: 38663544 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168586] [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: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Stabilizing proteins without otherwise hampering their function is a central task in protein engineering and design. PYR1 is a plant hormone receptor that has been engineered to bind diverse small molecule ligands. We sought a set of generalized mutations that would provide stability without affecting functionality for PYR1 variants with diverse ligand-binding capabilities. To do this we used a global multi-mutant analysis (GMMA) approach, which can identify substitutions that have stabilizing effects and do not lower function. GMMA has the added benefit of finding substitutions that are stabilizing in different sequence contexts and we hypothesized that applying GMMA to PYR1 with different functionalities would identify this set of generalized mutations. Indeed, conducting FACS and deep sequencing of libraries for PYR1 variants with two different functionalities and applying a GMMA analysis identified 5 substitutions that, when inserted into four PYR1 variants that each bind a unique ligand, provided an increase of 2-6 °C in thermal inactivation temperature and no decrease in functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Daffern
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | - Kristoffer E Johansson
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Zachary T Baumer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | | | - Janty Woojuh
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, USA
| | - Matthew A Bedewitz
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | - Zoë Davis
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | - Ian Wheeldon
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, USA; Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Sean R Cutler
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, USA; Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA; Center for Plant Cell Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Timothy A Whitehead
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
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28
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Pavia G, Quirino A, Marascio N, Veneziano C, Longhini F, Bruni A, Garofalo E, Pantanella M, Manno M, Gigliotti S, Giancotti A, Barreca GS, Branda F, Torti C, Rotundo S, Lionello R, La Gamba V, Berardelli L, Gullì SP, Trecarichi EM, Russo A, Palmieri C, De Marco C, Viglietto G, Casu M, Sanna D, Ciccozzi M, Scarpa F, Matera G. Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral intra- and inter-host evolution in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29708. [PMID: 38804179 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) persistence in COVID-19 patients could play a key role in the emergence of variants of concern. The rapid intra-host evolution of SARS-CoV-2 may result in an increased transmissibility, immune and therapeutic escape which could be a direct consequence of COVID-19 epidemic currents. In this context, a longitudinal retrospective study on eight consecutive COVID-19 patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection, from January 2022 to March 2023, was conducted. To characterize the intra- and inter-host viral evolution, whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed on nasopharyngeal samples collected at different time points. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed an accelerated SARS-CoV-2 intra-host evolution and emergence of antigenically divergent variants. The Bayesian inference and principal coordinate analysis analysis showed a host-based genomic structuring among antigenically divergent variants, that might reflect the positive effect of containment practices, within the critical hospital area. All longitudinal antigenically divergent isolates shared a wide range of amino acidic (aa) changes, particularly in the Spike (S) glycoprotein, that increased viral transmissibility (K417N, S477N, N501Y and Q498R), enhanced infectivity (R346T, S373P, R408S, T478K, Q498R, Y505H, D614G, H655Y, N679K and P681H), caused host immune escape (S371L, S375F, T376A, K417N, and K444T/R) and displayed partial or complete resistance to treatments (G339D, R346K/T, S371F/L, S375F, T376A, D405N, N440K, G446S, N460K, E484A, F486V, Q493R, G496S and Q498R). These results suggest that multiple novel variants which emerge in the patient during persistent infection, might spread to another individual and continue to evolve. A pro-active genomic surveillance of persistent SARS-CoV-2 infected patients is recommended to identify genetically divergent lineages before their diffusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grazia Pavia
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Angela Quirino
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Nadia Marascio
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Claudia Veneziano
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center of Services (CIS), Molecular Genomics and Pathology, "Magna Græcia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Federico Longhini
- Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Andrea Bruni
- Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Eugenio Garofalo
- Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Marta Pantanella
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Michele Manno
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Simona Gigliotti
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Aida Giancotti
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giorgio Settimo Barreca
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Francesco Branda
- Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Torti
- Dipartimento di Scienze di Laboratorio e Infettivologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Dipartimento di Sicurezza e Bioetica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Rotundo
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Rosaria Lionello
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Valentina La Gamba
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Lavinia Berardelli
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Sara Palma Gullì
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Enrico Maria Trecarichi
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Alessandro Russo
- Unit of Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Camillo Palmieri
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Carmela De Marco
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center of Services (CIS), Molecular Genomics and Pathology, "Magna Græcia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Viglietto
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center of Services (CIS), Molecular Genomics and Pathology, "Magna Græcia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Marco Casu
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Daria Sanna
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Scarpa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Giovanni Matera
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Græcia" University Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy
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29
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Luo L, Lv J. An evolutionary theory on virus mutation in COVID-19. Virus Res 2024; 344:199358. [PMID: 38508401 PMCID: PMC10979259 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199358] [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: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
With the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2, the emergence of new strains is an intriguing question. This paper presents an evolutionary theory to analyze the mutations of the virus and identify the conditions that lead to the generation of new strains. We represent the virus variants using a 4-letter sequence based on amino acid mutations on the spike protein and employ an n-distance algorithm to derive a variant phylogenetic tree. We show that the theoretically-derived tree aligns with experimental data on virus evolution. Additionally, we propose an A-X model, utilizing the set of existing mutation sites (A) and a set of randomly generated sites (X), to calculate the emergence of new strains. Our findings demonstrate that a sufficient number of random iterations can predict the generation of new macro-lineages when the number of sites in X is large enough. These results provide a crucial theoretical basis for understanding the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liaofu Luo
- Faculty of Physical Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University, 235 West College Road, Hohhot 010021, China.
| | - Jun Lv
- College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, 49 Aymin Street, Hohhot 010051, China.
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30
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Rojas Chávez RA, Fili M, Han C, Rahman SA, Bicar IGL, Gregory S, Helverson A, Hu G, Darbro BW, Das J, Brown GD, Haim H. Mapping the Evolutionary Space of SARS-CoV-2 Variants to Anticipate Emergence of Subvariants Resistant to COVID-19 Therapeutics. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012215. [PMID: 38857308 PMCID: PMC11192331 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
New sublineages of SARS-CoV-2 variants-of-concern (VOCs) continuously emerge with mutations in the spike glycoprotein. In most cases, the sublineage-defining mutations vary between the VOCs. It is unclear whether these differences reflect lineage-specific likelihoods for mutations at each spike position or the stochastic nature of their appearance. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 lineages have distinct evolutionary spaces (a probabilistic definition of the sequence states that can be occupied by expanding virus subpopulations). This space can be accurately inferred from the patterns of amino acid variability at the whole-protein level. Robust networks of co-variable sites identify the highest-likelihood mutations in new VOC sublineages and predict remarkably well the emergence of subvariants with resistance mutations to COVID-19 therapeutics. Our studies reveal the contribution of low frequency variant patterns at heterologous sites across the protein to accurate prediction of the changes at each position of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohammad Fili
- Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Changze Han
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Syed A. Rahman
- Center for Systems Immunology, Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Isaiah G. L. Bicar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Sullivan Gregory
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Annika Helverson
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Guiping Hu
- Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Benjamin W. Darbro
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Jishnu Das
- Center for Systems Immunology, Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Grant D. Brown
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Hillel Haim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
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31
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Hattab D, Amer MFA, Al-Alami ZM, Bakhtiar A. SARS-CoV-2 journey: from alpha variant to omicron and its sub-variants. Infection 2024; 52:767-786. [PMID: 38554253 PMCID: PMC11143066 DOI: 10.1007/s15010-024-02223-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected hundreds of millions of individuals and caused more than six million deaths. The prolonged pandemic duration and the continual inter-individual transmissibility have contributed to the emergence of a wide variety of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Genomic surveillance and phylogenetic studies have shown that substantial mutations in crucial supersites of spike glycoprotein modulate the binding affinity of the evolved SARS-COV-2 lineages to ACE2 receptors and modify the binding of spike protein with neutralizing antibodies. The immunological spike mutations have been associated with differential transmissibility, infectivity, and therapeutic efficacy of the vaccines and the immunological therapies among the new variants. This review highlights the diverse genetic mutations assimilated in various SARS-CoV-2 variants. The implications of the acquired mutations related to viral transmission, infectivity, and COVID-19 severity are discussed. This review also addresses the effectiveness of human neutralizing antibodies induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection or immunization and the therapeutic antibodies against the ascended variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dima Hattab
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Queen Rania Street, Amman, Jordan
| | - Mumen F A Amer
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Zina M Al-Alami
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Athirah Bakhtiar
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
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32
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Cornish K, Huo J, Jones L, Sharma P, Thrush JW, Abdelkarim S, Kipar A, Ramadurai S, Weckener M, Mikolajek H, Liu S, Buckle I, Bentley E, Kirby A, Han X, Laidlaw SM, Hill M, Eyssen L, Norman C, Le Bas A, Clarke J, James W, Stewart JP, Carroll M, Naismith JH, Owens RJ. Structural and functional characterization of nanobodies that neutralize Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. Open Biol 2024; 14:230252. [PMID: 38835241 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.230252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The Omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2 pose a significant challenge to the development of effective antibody-based treatments as immune evasion has compromised most available immune therapeutics. Therefore, in the 'arms race' with the virus, there is a continuing need to identify new biologics for the prevention or treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Here, we report the isolation of nanobodies that bind to the Omicron BA.1 spike protein by screening nanobody phage display libraries previously generated from llamas immunized with either the Wuhan or Beta spike proteins. The structure and binding properties of three of these nanobodies (A8, H6 and B5-5) have been characterized in detail providing insight into their binding epitopes on the Omicron spike protein. Trimeric versions of H6 and B5-5 neutralized the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern BA.5 both in vitro and in the hamster model of COVID-19 following nasal administration. Thus, either alone or in combination could serve as starting points for the development of new anti-viral immunotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy Cornish
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Jiandong Huo
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
- Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Luke Jones
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Parul Sharma
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
| | - Joseph W Thrush
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Sahar Abdelkarim
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Anja Kipar
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
- Vetsuisse Faculty, Laboratory for Animal Model Pathology, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Siva Ramadurai
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Miriam Weckener
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | | | - Sai Liu
- James & Lillian Martin Centre, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Imogen Buckle
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Eleanor Bentley
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
| | - Adam Kirby
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
| | - Ximeng Han
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
| | - Stephen M Laidlaw
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Michelle Hill
- James & Lillian Martin Centre, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Lauren Eyssen
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Chelsea Norman
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - Audrey Le Bas
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - John Clarke
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
| | - William James
- James & Lillian Martin Centre, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - James P Stewart
- Department of Infection Biology & Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK
| | - Miles Carroll
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - James H Naismith
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
- Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Raymond J Owens
- Structural Biology, The Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus , Didcot, UK
- Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
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33
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Xue S, Han Y, Wu F, Wang Q. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain and their delicate balance between ACE2 affinity and antibody evasion. Protein Cell 2024; 15:403-418. [PMID: 38442025 PMCID: PMC11131022 DOI: 10.1093/procel/pwae007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Intensive selection pressure constrains the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 genomes and results in various novel variants with distinct mutation profiles. Point mutations, particularly those within the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, lead to the functional alteration in both receptor engagement and monoclonal antibody (mAb) recognition. Here, we review the data of the RBD point mutations possessed by major SARS-CoV-2 variants and discuss their individual effects on ACE2 affinity and immune evasion. Many single amino acid substitutions within RBD epitopes crucial for the antibody evasion capacity may conversely weaken ACE2 binding affinity. However, this weakened effect could be largely compensated by specific epistatic mutations, such as N501Y, thus maintaining the overall ACE2 affinity for the spike protein of all major variants. The predominant direction of SARS-CoV-2 evolution lies neither in promoting ACE2 affinity nor evading mAb neutralization but in maintaining a delicate balance between these two dimensions. Together, this review interprets how RBD mutations efficiently resist antibody neutralization and meanwhile how the affinity between ACE2 and spike protein is maintained, emphasizing the significance of comprehensive assessment of spike mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xue
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yuru Han
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Fan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Qiao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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34
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Rao J, Xin R, Macdonald C, Howard MK, Estevam GO, Yee SW, Wang M, Fraser JS, Coyote-Maestas W, Pimentel H. Rosace: a robust deep mutational scanning analysis framework employing position and mean-variance shrinkage. Genome Biol 2024; 25:138. [PMID: 38789982 PMCID: PMC11127319 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03279-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Deep mutational scanning (DMS) measures the effects of thousands of genetic variants in a protein simultaneously. The small sample size renders classical statistical methods ineffective. For example, p-values cannot be correctly calibrated when treating variants independently. We propose Rosace, a Bayesian framework for analyzing growth-based DMS data. Rosace leverages amino acid position information to increase power and control the false discovery rate by sharing information across parameters via shrinkage. We also developed Rosette for simulating the distributional properties of DMS. We show that Rosace is robust to the violation of model assumptions and is more powerful than existing tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyou Rao
- Department of Computer Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ruiqi Xin
- Computational and Systems Biology Interdepartmental Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christian Macdonald
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthew K Howard
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Tetrad Graduate Program, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gabriella O Estevam
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Tetrad Graduate Program, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sook Wah Yee
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mingsen Wang
- Department of Mathematics, Baruch College, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
| | - James S Fraser
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Willow Coyote-Maestas
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Harold Pimentel
- Department of Computer Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Computational Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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35
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Cohen AA, Keeffe JR, Schiepers A, Dross SE, Greaney AJ, Rorick AV, Gao H, Gnanapragasam PNP, Fan C, West AP, Ramsingh AI, Erasmus JH, Pata JD, Muramatsu H, Pardi N, Lin PJC, Baxter S, Cruz R, Quintanar-Audelo M, Robb E, Serrano-Amatriain C, Magneschi L, Fotheringham IG, Fuller DH, Victora GD, Bjorkman PJ. Mosaic sarbecovirus nanoparticles elicit cross-reactive responses in pre-vaccinated animals. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.08.576722. [PMID: 38370696 PMCID: PMC10871317 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.08.576722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Immunization with mosaic-8b [60-mer nanoparticles presenting 8 SARS-like betacoronavirus (sarbecovirus) receptor-binding domains (RBDs)] elicits more broadly cross-reactive antibodies than homotypic SARS-CoV-2 RBD-only nanoparticles and protects against sarbecoviruses. To investigate original antigenic sin (OAS) effects on mosaic-8b efficacy, we evaluated effects of prior COVID-19 vaccinations in non-human primates and mice on anti-sarbecovirus responses elicited by mosaic-8b, admix-8b (8 homotypics), or homotypic SARS-CoV-2 immunizations, finding greatest cross-reactivity for mosaic-8b. As demonstrated by molecular fate-mapping in which antibodies from specific cohorts of B cells are differentially detected, B cells primed by WA1 spike mRNA-LNP dominated antibody responses after RBD-nanoparticle boosting. While mosaic-8b- and homotypic-nanoparticles boosted cross-reactive antibodies, de novo antibodies were predominantly induced by mosaic-8b, and these were specific for variant RBDs with increased identity to RBDs on mosaic-8b. These results inform OAS mechanisms and support using mosaic-8b to protect COVID-19 vaccinated/infected humans against as-yet-unknown SARS-CoV-2 variants and animal sarbecoviruses with human spillover potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander A Cohen
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Jennifer R Keeffe
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Ariën Schiepers
- Laboratory of Lymphocyte Dynamics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Sandra E Dross
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA 98121, USA
| | - Allison J Greaney
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Annie V Rorick
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Han Gao
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Chengcheng Fan
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Anthony P West
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | | | - Janice D Pata
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY, 12201, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | | | - Scott Baxter
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Rita Cruz
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Martina Quintanar-Audelo
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
- Present address: Centre for Inflammation Research and Institute of Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Ellis Robb
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
| | | | - Leonardo Magneschi
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Ian G Fotheringham
- Ingenza Ltd, Roslin Innovation Centre, Charnock Bradley Building, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Deborah H Fuller
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA 98121, USA
| | - Gabriel D Victora
- Laboratory of Lymphocyte Dynamics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Pamela J Bjorkman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Lead contact
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36
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Metzger BPH, Park Y, Starr TN, Thornton JW. Epistasis facilitates functional evolution in an ancient transcription factor. eLife 2024; 12:RP88737. [PMID: 38767330 PMCID: PMC11105156 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
A protein's genetic architecture - the set of causal rules by which its sequence produces its functions - also determines its possible evolutionary trajectories. Prior research has proposed that the genetic architecture of proteins is very complex, with pervasive epistatic interactions that constrain evolution and make function difficult to predict from sequence. Most of this work has analyzed only the direct paths between two proteins of interest - excluding the vast majority of possible genotypes and evolutionary trajectories - and has considered only a single protein function, leaving unaddressed the genetic architecture of functional specificity and its impact on the evolution of new functions. Here, we develop a new method based on ordinal logistic regression to directly characterize the global genetic determinants of multiple protein functions from 20-state combinatorial deep mutational scanning (DMS) experiments. We use it to dissect the genetic architecture and evolution of a transcription factor's specificity for DNA, using data from a combinatorial DMS of an ancient steroid hormone receptor's capacity to activate transcription from two biologically relevant DNA elements. We show that the genetic architecture of DNA recognition consists of a dense set of main and pairwise effects that involve virtually every possible amino acid state in the protein-DNA interface, but higher-order epistasis plays only a tiny role. Pairwise interactions enlarge the set of functional sequences and are the primary determinants of specificity for different DNA elements. They also massively expand the number of opportunities for single-residue mutations to switch specificity from one DNA target to another. By bringing variants with different functions close together in sequence space, pairwise epistasis therefore facilitates rather than constrains the evolution of new functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian PH Metzger
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Yeonwoo Park
- Program in Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Tyler N Starr
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Joseph W Thornton
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
- Department of Human Genetics, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
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37
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Iglesias-Caballero M, Mas V, Vázquez-Morón S, Vázquez M, Camarero-Serrano S, Cano O, Palomo C, Ruano MJ, Cano-Gómez C, Infantes-Lorenzo JA, Campoy A, Agüero M, Pozo F, Casas I. Genomic Context of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreaks in Farmed Mink in Spain during Pandemic: Unveiling Host Adaptation Mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5499. [PMID: 38791536 PMCID: PMC11122236 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105499] [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: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects various mammalian species, with farmed minks experiencing the highest number of outbreaks. In Spain, we analyzed 67 whole genome sequences and eight spike sequences from 18 outbreaks, identifying four distinct lineages: B.1, B.1.177, B.1.1.7, and AY.98.1. The potential risk of transmission to humans raises crucial questions about mutation accumulation and its impact on viral fitness. Sequencing revealed numerous not-lineage-defining mutations, suggesting a cumulative mutation process during the outbreaks. We observed that the outbreaks were predominantly associated with different groups of mutations rather than specific lineages. This clustering pattern by the outbreaks could be attributed to the rapid accumulation of mutations, particularly in the ORF1a polyprotein and in the spike protein. Notably, the mutations G37E in NSP9, a potential host marker, and S486L in NSP13 were detected. Spike protein mutations may enhance SARS-CoV-2 adaptability by influencing trimer stability and binding to mink receptors. These findings provide valuable insights into mink coronavirus genetics, highlighting both host markers and viral transmission dynamics within communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Iglesias-Caballero
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Vicente Mas
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Sonia Vázquez-Morón
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mónica Vázquez
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Sara Camarero-Serrano
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Olga Cano
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Concepción Palomo
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - María José Ruano
- Central Laboratory of Veterinarian (LCV), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 28110 Algete, Madrid, Spain; (M.J.R.); (C.C.-G.); (M.A.)
| | - Cristina Cano-Gómez
- Central Laboratory of Veterinarian (LCV), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 28110 Algete, Madrid, Spain; (M.J.R.); (C.C.-G.); (M.A.)
| | - José Antonio Infantes-Lorenzo
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
| | - Albert Campoy
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
- CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Montserrat Agüero
- Central Laboratory of Veterinarian (LCV), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 28110 Algete, Madrid, Spain; (M.J.R.); (C.C.-G.); (M.A.)
| | - Francisco Pozo
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Casas
- Reference and Research Laboratory for Respiratory Virus, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; (V.M.); (S.V.-M.); (F.P.)
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
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38
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Deng L, Zhou YL, Cai Z, Zhu J, Li Z, Bao Z. Massively parallel CRISPR-assisted homologous recombination enables saturation editing of full-length endogenous genes in yeast. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj9382. [PMID: 38748797 PMCID: PMC11095455 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj9382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Performing saturation editing of chromosomal genes will enable the study of genetic variants in situ and facilitate protein and cell engineering. However, current in vivo editing of endogenous genes either lacks flexibility or is limited to discrete codons and short gene fragments, preventing a comprehensive exploration of genotype-phenotype relationships. To enable facile saturation editing of full-length genes, we used a protospacer adjacent motif-relaxed Cas9 variant and homology-directed repair to achieve above 60% user-defined codon replacement efficiencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome. Coupled with massively parallel DNA design and synthesis, we developed a saturation gene editing method termed CRISPR-Cas9- and homology-directed repair-assisted saturation editing (CHASE) and achieved highly saturated codon swapping of long genomic regions. By applying CHASE to massively edit a well-studied global transcription factor gene, we found known and unreported genetic variants affecting an industrially relevant microbial trait. The user-defined codon editing capability and wide targeting windows of CHASE substantially expand the scope of saturation gene editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Deng
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi-Lian Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenkun Cai
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jie Zhu
- Bota Biosciences, Hangzhou 311222, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zenan Li
- Bota Biosciences, Hangzhou 311222, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zehua Bao
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
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39
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Lei R, Qing E, Odle A, Yuan M, Gunawardene CD, Tan TJC, So N, Ouyang WO, Wilson IA, Gallagher T, Perlman S, Wu NC, Wong LYR. Functional and antigenic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 spike fusion peptide by deep mutational scanning. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4056. [PMID: 38744813 PMCID: PMC11094058 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48104-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The fusion peptide of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is functionally important for membrane fusion during virus entry and is part of a broadly neutralizing epitope. However, sequence determinants at the fusion peptide and its adjacent regions for pathogenicity and antigenicity remain elusive. In this study, we perform a series of deep mutational scanning (DMS) experiments on an S2 region spanning the fusion peptide of authentic SARS-CoV-2 in different cell lines and in the presence of broadly neutralizing antibodies. We identify mutations at residue 813 of the spike protein that reduced TMPRSS2-mediated entry with decreased virulence. In addition, we show that an F823Y mutation, present in bat betacoronavirus HKU9 spike protein, confers resistance to broadly neutralizing antibodies. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity and also highlight a potential challenge in developing broadly protective S2-based coronavirus vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruipeng Lei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Enya Qing
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | - Abby Odle
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Meng Yuan
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Chaminda D Gunawardene
- Center for Virus-Host Innate Immunity, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Timothy J C Tan
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Natalie So
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wenhao O Ouyang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Ian A Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Tom Gallagher
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA.
| | - Stanley Perlman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Nicholas C Wu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Lok-Yin Roy Wong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
- Center for Virus-Host Innate Immunity, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
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40
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Petersen BM, Kirby MB, Chrispens KM, Irvin OM, Strawn IK, Haas CM, Walker AM, Baumer ZT, Ulmer SA, Ayala E, Rhodes ER, Guthmiller JJ, Steiner PJ, Whitehead TA. An integrated technology for quantitative wide mutational scanning of human antibody Fab libraries. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3974. [PMID: 38730230 PMCID: PMC11087541 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48072-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibodies are engineerable quantities in medicine. Learning antibody molecular recognition would enable the in silico design of high affinity binders against nearly any proteinaceous surface. Yet, publicly available experiment antibody sequence-binding datasets may not contain the mutagenic, antigenic, or antibody sequence diversity necessary for deep learning approaches to capture molecular recognition. In part, this is because limited experimental platforms exist for assessing quantitative and simultaneous sequence-function relationships for multiple antibodies. Here we present MAGMA-seq, an integrated technology that combines multiple antigens and multiple antibodies and determines quantitative biophysical parameters using deep sequencing. We demonstrate MAGMA-seq on two pooled libraries comprising mutants of nine different human antibodies spanning light chain gene usage, CDR H3 length, and antigenic targets. We demonstrate the comprehensive mapping of potential antibody development pathways, sequence-binding relationships for multiple antibodies simultaneously, and identification of paratope sequence determinants for binding recognition for broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). MAGMA-seq enables rapid and scalable antibody engineering of multiple lead candidates because it can measure binding for mutants of many given parental antibodies in a single experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M Petersen
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Monica B Kirby
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Karson M Chrispens
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Olivia M Irvin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Isabell K Strawn
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Cyrus M Haas
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Alexis M Walker
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Zachary T Baumer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Sophia A Ulmer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Edgardo Ayala
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Emily R Rhodes
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Jenna J Guthmiller
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Paul J Steiner
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Timothy A Whitehead
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
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41
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Meijers M, Ruchnewitz D, Eberhardt J, Karmakar M, Łuksza M, Lässig M. Concepts and methods for predicting viral evolution. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.19.585703. [PMID: 38746108 PMCID: PMC11092427 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.19.585703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
The seasonal human influenza virus undergoes rapid evolution, leading to significant changes in circulating viral strains from year to year. These changes are typically driven by adaptive mutations, particularly in the antigenic epitopes, the regions of the viral surface protein haemagglutinin targeted by human antibodies. Here we describe a consistent set of methods for data-driven predictive analysis of viral evolution. Our pipeline integrates four types of data: (1) sequence data of viral isolates collected on a worldwide scale, (2) epidemiological data on incidences, (3) antigenic characterization of circulating viruses, and (4) intrinsic viral phenotypes. From the combined analysis of these data, we obtain estimates of relative fitness for circulating strains and predictions of clade frequencies for periods of up to one year. Furthermore, we obtain comparative estimates of protection against future viral populations for candidate vaccine strains, providing a basis for pre-emptive vaccine strain selection. Continuously updated predictions obtained from the prediction pipeline for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are available on the website previr.app .
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42
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Meijers M, Ruchnewitz D, Eberhardt J, Karmakar M, Łuksza M, Lässig M. Concepts and methods for predicting viral evolution. ARXIV 2024:arXiv:2403.12684v2. [PMID: 38745695 PMCID: PMC11092678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
The seasonal human influenza virus undergoes rapid evolution, leading to significant changes in circulating viral strains from year to year. These changes are typically driven by adaptive mutations, particularly in the antigenic epitopes, the regions of the viral surface protein haemagglutinin targeted by human antibodies. Here we describe a consistent set of methods for data-driven predictive analysis of viral evolution. Our pipeline integrates four types of data: (1) sequence data of viral isolates collected on a worldwide scale, (2) epidemiological data on incidences, (3) antigenic characterization of circulating viruses, and (4) intrinsic viral phenotypes. From the combined analysis of these data, we obtain estimates of relative fitness for circulating strains and predictions of clade frequencies for periods of up to one year. Furthermore, we obtain comparative estimates of protection against future viral populations for candidate vaccine strains, providing a basis for pre-emptive vaccine strain selection. Continuously updated predictions obtained from the prediction pipeline for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are available on the website previr.app.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthijs Meijers
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Zülpicherstr. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
| | - Denis Ruchnewitz
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Zülpicherstr. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
| | - Jan Eberhardt
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Zülpicherstr. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
| | - Malancha Karmakar
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Zülpicherstr. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
| | - Marta Łuksza
- Tisch Cancer Institute, Departments of Oncological Sciences and Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael Lässig
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Zülpicherstr. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
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43
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Le HT, Tran LH, Phung HTT. SARS-CoV-2 omicron RBD forms a weaker binding affinity to hACE2 compared to Delta RBD in in-silico studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:4087-4096. [PMID: 37345564 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2222827] [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: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an unprecedented race in biotechnology in a search for effective therapies and a preventive vaccine. The continued appearance of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) further swept the world. The entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells is mediated by binding the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S protein to the cell-surface receptor, human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2). In this study, using a coarse-grained force field to parameterize the system, we employed steered-molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to reveal the binding of SARS-CoV-2 Delta/Omicron RBD to hACE2. Our benchmarked results demonstrate a good correlation between computed rupture force and experimental binding free energy for known protein-protein systems. Moreover, our findings show that the Omicron RBD has a weaker binding affinity to hACE2, consistent with the respective experimental results. This indicates that our method can effectively be applied to other emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoa Thanh Le
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Linh Hoang Tran
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Huong Thi Thu Phung
- NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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44
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Albert MC, Uranga-Murillo I, Arias M, De Miguel D, Peña N, Montinaro A, Varanda AB, Theobald SJ, Areso I, Saggau J, Koch M, Liccardi G, Peltzer N, Rybniker J, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Merino P, Monzón M, Badiola JJ, Reindl-Schwaighofer R, Sanz-Pamplona R, Cebollada-Solanas A, Megyesfalvi Z, Dome B, Secrier M, Hartmann B, Bergmann M, Pardo J, Walczak H. Identification of FasL as a crucial host factor driving COVID-19 pathology and lethality. Cell Death Differ 2024; 31:544-557. [PMID: 38514848 PMCID: PMC11093991 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-024-01278-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The dysregulated immune response and inflammation resulting in severe COVID-19 are still incompletely understood. Having recently determined that aberrant death-ligand-induced cell death can cause lethal inflammation, we hypothesized that this process might also cause or contribute to inflammatory disease and lung failure following SARS-CoV-2 infection. To test this hypothesis, we developed a novel mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 model (MA20) that recapitulates key pathological features of COVID-19. Concomitantly with occurrence of cell death and inflammation, FasL expression was significantly increased on inflammatory monocytic macrophages and NK cells in the lungs of MA20-infected mice. Importantly, therapeutic FasL inhibition markedly increased survival of both, young and old MA20-infected mice coincident with substantially reduced cell death and inflammation in their lungs. Intriguingly, FasL was also increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of critically-ill COVID-19 patients. Together, these results identify FasL as a crucial host factor driving the immuno-pathology that underlies COVID-19 severity and lethality, and imply that patients with severe COVID-19 may significantly benefit from therapeutic inhibition of FasL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Christine Albert
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, CECAD Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Iratxe Uranga-Murillo
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
- Department of Microbiology, Paediatrics, Radiology and Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Maykel Arias
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
- Department of Microbiology, Paediatrics, Radiology and Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Diego De Miguel
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Natacha Peña
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Antonella Montinaro
- Centre for Cell Death, Cancer, and Inflammation (CCCI), UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Ana Beatriz Varanda
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, CECAD Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Sebastian J Theobald
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, Centre for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Itziar Areso
- Centre for Cell Death, Cancer, and Inflammation (CCCI), UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Julia Saggau
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, CECAD Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Genome instability, inflammation and cell death laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Manuel Koch
- Institue for Dental Research and Oral Musculoskeletal Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Gianmaria Liccardi
- Genome instability, inflammation and cell death laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Nieves Peltzer
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, CECAD Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, Centre for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Department of Translational Genomics, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Jan Rybniker
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, Centre for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany
| | - Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero
- Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
- Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark
- Fundación ARAID, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
| | - Pedro Merino
- Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
| | - Marta Monzón
- Research Centre for Encephalopaties and Transmissible Emerging Diseases, Institute for Health Research Aragón (IIS), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50013, Spain
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Juan J Badiola
- Research Centre for Encephalopaties and Transmissible Emerging Diseases, Institute for Health Research Aragón (IIS), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50013, Spain
| | | | - Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
- Fundación ARAID, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - Alberto Cebollada-Solanas
- Aragon Biomedical Research Center (CIBA), Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud (IACS), Unidad de Biocomputación, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
| | - Zsolt Megyesfalvi
- Deparment of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Semmelweis University and National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, 1122, Hungary
- National Koranyi Institute of Pulmonology, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
| | - Balazs Dome
- Deparment of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Semmelweis University and National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, 1122, Hungary
- National Koranyi Institute of Pulmonology, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
- Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Lund, SE-22100, Sweden
| | - Maria Secrier
- UCL Genetics Institute, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Boris Hartmann
- Virology Group, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control at AGES, Moedling, 2340, Austria
| | - Michael Bergmann
- Div. of Visceral Surgery, Dept. of General Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Julián Pardo
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), San Juan Bosco 13, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
- Department of Microbiology, Paediatrics, Radiology and Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - Henning Walczak
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, CECAD Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany.
- Cell death, inflammation and immunity laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry I, Centre for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50931, Germany.
- Centre for Cell Death, Cancer, and Inflammation (CCCI), UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6DD, UK.
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45
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Hoskins I, Rao S, Tante C, Cenik C. Integrated multiplexed assays of variant effect reveal determinants of catechol-O-methyltransferase gene expression. Mol Syst Biol 2024; 20:481-505. [PMID: 38355921 PMCID: PMC11066095 DOI: 10.1038/s44320-024-00018-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Multiplexed assays of variant effect are powerful methods to profile the consequences of rare variants on gene expression and organismal fitness. Yet, few studies have integrated several multiplexed assays to map variant effects on gene expression in coding sequences. Here, we pioneered a multiplexed assay based on polysome profiling to measure variant effects on translation at scale, uncovering single-nucleotide variants that increase or decrease ribosome load. By combining high-throughput ribosome load data with multiplexed mRNA and protein abundance readouts, we mapped the cis-regulatory landscape of thousands of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) variants from RNA to protein and found numerous coding variants that alter COMT expression. Finally, we trained machine learning models to map signatures of variant effects on COMT gene expression and uncovered both directional and divergent impacts across expression layers. Our analyses reveal expression phenotypes for thousands of variants in COMT and highlight variant effects on both single and multiple layers of expression. Our findings prompt future studies that integrate several multiplexed assays for the readout of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Hoskins
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Shilpa Rao
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Charisma Tante
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Can Cenik
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
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46
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Kumar A, Tripathi P, Kumar P, Shekhar R, Pathak R. From Detection to Protection: Antibodies and Their Crucial Role in Diagnosing and Combatting SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines (Basel) 2024; 12:459. [PMID: 38793710 PMCID: PMC11125746 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12050459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is crucial to comprehending disease progression and the significance of vaccine and therapeutic development. The emergence of highly contagious variants poses a significant challenge to humoral immunity, underscoring the necessity of grasping the intricacies of specific antibodies. This review emphasizes the pivotal role of antibodies in shaping immune responses and their implications for diagnosing, preventing, and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. It delves into the kinetics and characteristics of the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 and explores current antibody-based diagnostics, discussing their strengths, clinical utility, and limitations. Furthermore, we underscore the therapeutic potential of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, discussing various antibody-based therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, anti-cytokines, convalescent plasma, and hyperimmunoglobulin-based therapies. Moreover, we offer insights into antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, emphasizing the significance of neutralizing antibodies in order to confer immunity to SARS-CoV-2, along with emerging variants of concern (VOCs) and circulating Omicron subvariants. We also highlight challenges in the field, such as the risks of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and shed light on the challenges associated with the original antigenic sin (OAS) effect and long COVID. Overall, this review intends to provide valuable insights, which are crucial to advancing sensitive diagnostic tools, identifying efficient antibody-based therapeutics, and developing effective vaccines to combat the evolving threat of SARS-CoV-2 variants on a global scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anoop Kumar
- Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, National Institute of Biologicals, Noida 201309, India
| | - Prajna Tripathi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10021, USA;
| | - Prashant Kumar
- R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Ritu Shekhar
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Rajiv Pathak
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, NY 10461, USA
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47
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Iketani S, Ho DD. SARS-CoV-2 resistance to monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule drugs. Cell Chem Biol 2024; 31:632-657. [PMID: 38640902 PMCID: PMC11084874 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2024.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Over four years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific response has been rapid and effective, with many therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and small molecules developed for clinical use. However, given the ability for viruses to become resistant to antivirals, it is perhaps no surprise that the field has identified resistance to nearly all of these compounds. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the resistance profile for each of these therapeutics. We hope that this resource provides an atlas for mutations to be aware of for each agent, particularly as a springboard for considerations for the next generation of antivirals. Finally, we discuss the outlook and thoughts for moving forward in how we continue to manage this, and the next, pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sho Iketani
- Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
| | - David D Ho
- Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
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48
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Yang YL, Wang B, Li W, Cai HL, Qian QY, Qin Y, Shi FS, Bosch BJ, Huang YW. Functional dissection of the spike glycoprotein S1 subunit and identification of cellular cofactors for regulation of swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus entry. J Virol 2024; 98:e0013924. [PMID: 38501663 PMCID: PMC11019839 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00139-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) is a novel porcine enteric coronavirus, and the broad interspecies infection of SADS-CoV poses a potential threat to human health. This study provides experimental evidence to dissect the roles of distinct domains within the SADS-CoV spike S1 subunit in cellular entry. Specifically, we expressed the S1 and its subdomains, S1A and S1B. Cell binding and invasion inhibition assays revealed a preference for the S1B subdomain in binding to the receptors on the cell surface, and this unknown receptor is not utilized by the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Nanoparticle display demonstrated hemagglutination of erythrocytes from pigs, humans, and mice, linking the S1A subdomain to the binding of sialic acid (Sia) involved in virus attachment. We successfully rescued GFP-labeled SADS-CoV (rSADS-GFP) from a recombinant cDNA clone to track viral infection. Antisera raised against S1, S1A, or S1B contained highly potent neutralizing antibodies, with anti-S1B showing better efficiency in neutralizing rSADS-GFP infection compared to anti-S1A. Furthermore, depletion of heparan sulfate (HS) by heparinase treatment or pre-incubation of rSADS-GFP with HS or constituent monosaccharides could inhibit SADS-CoV entry. Finally, we demonstrated that active furin cleavage of S glycoprotein and the presence of type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2) are essential for SADS-CoV infection. These combined observations suggest that the wide cell tropism of SADS-CoV may be related to the distribution of Sia or HS on the cell surface, whereas the S1B contains the main protein receptor binding site. Specific host proteases also play important roles in facilitating SADS-CoV entry.IMPORTANCESwine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) is a novel pathogen infecting piglet, and its unique genetic evolution characteristics and broad species tropism suggest the potential for cross-species transmission. The virus enters cells through its spike (S) glycoprotein. In this study, we identify the receptor binding domain on the C-terminal part of the S1 subunit (S1B) of SADS-CoV, whereas the sugar-binding domain located at the S1 N-terminal part of S1 (S1A). Sialic acid, heparan sulfate, and specific host proteases play essential roles in viral attachment and entry. The dissection of SADS-CoV S1 subunit's functional domains and identification of cellular entry cofactors will help to explore the receptors used by SADS-CoV, which may contribute to exploring the mechanisms behind cross-species transmission and host tropism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Le Yang
- Xianghu Laboratory, Hangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bin Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wentao Li
- Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hou-Li Cai
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qian-Yu Qian
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yu Qin
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fang-Shu Shi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Berend-Jan Bosch
- Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Yao-Wei Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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49
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Sarkar A, Ghosh TA, Bandyopadhyay B, Maiti S, Panja AS. Prediction of Prospective Mutational Landscape of SARS-CoV-2 Spike ssRNA and Evolutionary Basis of Its Host Interaction. Mol Biotechnol 2024:10.1007/s12033-024-01146-1. [PMID: 38619800 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-024-01146-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Booster doses are crucial against severe COVID-19, as rapid virus mutations and variant emergence prolong the pandemic crisis. The virus's quick evolution, short generation-time, and adaptive changes impact virulence and evolvability, helping predictions about variant of concerns' (VOCs') landscapes. Here, in this study, we used a new computational algorithm, to predict the mutational pattern in SARS-CoV-2 ssRNA, proteomics, structural identification, mutation stability, and functional correlation, as well as immune escape mechanisms. Interestingly, the sequence diversity of SARS Coronavirus-2 has demonstrated a predominance of G- > A and C- > U substitutions. The best validation statistics are explored here in seven homologous models of the expected mutant SARS-CoV-2 spike ssRNA and employed for hACE2 and IgG interactions. The interactome profile of SARS-CoV-2 spike with hACE2 and IgG revealed a strong correlation between phylogeny and divergence time. The systematic adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 spike ssRNA influences infectivity and immune escape. Data suggest higher propensity of Adenine rich sequence promotes MHC system avoidance, preferred by A-rich codons. Phylogenetic data revealed the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 lineages' epidemiology. Our findings may unveil processes governing the genesis of immune-resistant variants, prompting a critical reassessment of the coronavirus mutation rate and exploration of hypotheses beyond mechanical aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aniket Sarkar
- Post Graduate Department of Biotechnology, Oriental Institute of Science and Technology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, 721102, India
| | - Trijit Arka Ghosh
- Department of Computer Application, Burdwan Institute of Management and Computer Science, The University of Burdwan, Dewandighi, Burdwan, West Bengal, 713102, India
| | - Bidyut Bandyopadhyay
- Post Graduate Department of Biotechnology, Oriental Institute of Science and Technology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, 721102, India
| | - Smarajit Maiti
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Haldia Institute of Health Sciences, ICARE Complex, Haldia, West Bengal, 721657, India
| | - Anindya Sundar Panja
- Post Graduate Department of Biotechnology, Molecular Informatics Laboratory, Oriental Institute of Science and Technology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, 721102, India.
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50
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Raisinghani N, Alshahrani M, Gupta G, Verkhivker G. Ensemble-Based Mutational Profiling and Network Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Omicron XBB Lineages for Interactions with the ACE2 Receptor and Antibodies: Cooperation of Binding Hotspots in Mediating Epistatic Couplings Underlies Binding Mechanism and Immune Escape. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4281. [PMID: 38673865 PMCID: PMC11049863 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we performed a computational study of binding mechanisms for the SARS-CoV-2 spike Omicron XBB lineages with the host cell receptor ACE2 and a panel of diverse class one antibodies. The central objective of this investigation was to examine the molecular factors underlying epistatic couplings among convergent evolution hotspots that enable optimal balancing of ACE2 binding and antibody evasion for Omicron variants BA.1, BA2, BA.3, BA.4/BA.5, BQ.1.1, XBB.1, XBB.1.5, and XBB.1.5 + L455F/F456L. By combining evolutionary analysis, molecular dynamics simulations, and ensemble-based mutational scanning of spike protein residues in complexes with ACE2, we identified structural stability and binding affinity hotspots that are consistent with the results of biochemical studies. In agreement with the results of deep mutational scanning experiments, our quantitative analysis correctly reproduced strong and variant-specific epistatic effects in the XBB.1.5 and BA.2 variants. It was shown that Y453W and F456L mutations can enhance ACE2 binding when coupled with Q493 in XBB.1.5, while these mutations become destabilized when coupled with the R493 position in the BA.2 variant. The results provided a molecular rationale of the epistatic mechanism in Omicron variants, showing a central role of the Q493/R493 hotspot in modulating epistatic couplings between convergent mutational sites L455F and F456L in XBB lineages. The results of mutational scanning and binding analysis of the Omicron XBB spike variants with ACE2 receptors and a panel of class one antibodies provide a quantitative rationale for the experimental evidence that epistatic interactions of the physically proximal binding hotspots Y501, R498, Q493, L455F, and F456L can determine strong ACE2 binding, while convergent mutational sites F456L and F486P are instrumental in mediating broad antibody resistance. The study supports a mechanism in which the impact on ACE2 binding affinity is mediated through a small group of universal binding hotspots, while the effect of immune evasion could be more variant-dependent and modulated by convergent mutational sites in the conformationally adaptable spike regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nishank Raisinghani
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA; (N.R.); (M.A.); (G.G.)
| | - Mohammed Alshahrani
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA; (N.R.); (M.A.); (G.G.)
| | - Grace Gupta
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA; (N.R.); (M.A.); (G.G.)
| | - Gennady Verkhivker
- Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Graduate Program in Computational and Data Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA; (N.R.); (M.A.); (G.G.)
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
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