1
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Liang L, Wang B, Zhang Q, Zhang S, Zhang S. Antibody drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2: Time for a rethink? Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 176:116900. [PMID: 38861858 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116900] [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: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) heavily burdens human health. Multiple neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) have been issued for emergency use or tested for treating infected patients in the clinic. However, SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) carrying mutations reduce the effectiveness of nAbs by preventing neutralization. Uncoding the mutation profile and immune evasion mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 can improve the outcome of Ab-mediated therapies. In this review, we first outline the development status of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Ab drugs and provide an overview of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their prevalence. We next focus on the failure causes of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Ab drugs and rethink the design strategy for developing new Ab drugs against COVID-19. This review provides updated information for the development of therapeutic Ab drugs against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Likeng Liang
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Bo Wang
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
| | - Shiwu Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Tianjin Union Medical Center, Nankai University, Tianjin 300121, China
| | - Sihe Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
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2
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Shim K, Hwang EH, Kim G, Woo YM, An YJ, Baek SH, Oh T, Kim Y, Jang K, Hong JJ, Koo BS. Molecular evolutionary characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the relatedness of epidemiological and socio-environmental factors. Heliyon 2024; 10:e30222. [PMID: 38737246 PMCID: PMC11088249 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30222] [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: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
After the first outbreak, SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to occur due to the emergence of new variants. There is limited information available on the comparative evaluation of evolutionary characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 among different countries over time, and its relatedness to epidemiological and socio-environmental factors within those countries. We assessed comparative Bayesian evolutionary characteristics for SARS-CoV-2 in eight countries from 2020 to 2022 using BEAST version 2.6.7. Additionally, the relatedness between virus evolution factors and both epidemiological and socio-environmental factors was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The estimated substitution rates in the gene encoding S protein of SARS-CoV-2 exhibited a continuous increase from 2020 to 2022 and were divided into two distinct groups in 2022 (p value < 0.05). Effective population size (Ne) generally showed decreased patterns by time. Notably, the change rates of the substitution rates were negatively correlated with the cumulative vaccination rates in 2021. A strict and rapid vaccination policy in the United Arab Emirates dramatically reduced the evolution of the virus, compared to other countries. Also, the average yearly temperature in countries were negatively correlated with the substitution rates. The changes of six epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 were related to various socio-environmental factors. We figured out comparative virus evolutionary traits and the association of epidemiological and socio-environmental factors especially cumulative vaccination rates and average temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyuyoung Shim
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Ha Hwang
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Green Kim
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Min Woo
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - You Jung An
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Ho Baek
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Taehwan Oh
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Yujin Kim
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Kiwon Jang
- Korea Bioinformation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Joo Hong
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Bon-Sang Koo
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomolecular Science, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
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3
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Ketaren NE, Mast FD, Fridy PC, Olivier JP, Sanyal T, Sali A, Chait BT, Rout MP, Aitchison JD. Nanobody repertoire generated against the spike protein of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 remains efficacious against the rapidly evolving virus. eLife 2024; 12:RP89423. [PMID: 38712823 PMCID: PMC11076045 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89423] [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: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
To date, all major modes of monoclonal antibody therapy targeting SARS-CoV-2 have lost significant efficacy against the latest circulating variants. As SARS-CoV-2 omicron sublineages account for over 90% of COVID-19 infections, evasion of immune responses generated by vaccination or exposure to previous variants poses a significant challenge. A compelling new therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 is that of single-domain antibodies, termed nanobodies, which address certain limitations of monoclonal antibodies. Here, we demonstrate that our high-affinity nanobody repertoire, generated against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (Mast et al., 2021), remains effective against variants of concern, including omicron BA.4/BA.5; a subset is predicted to counter resistance in emerging XBB and BQ.1.1 sublineages. Furthermore, we reveal the synergistic potential of nanobody cocktails in neutralizing emerging variants. Our study highlights the power of nanobody technology as a versatile therapeutic and diagnostic tool to combat rapidly evolving infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia E Ketaren
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Fred D Mast
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research InstituteSeattleUnited States
| | - Peter C Fridy
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Jean Paul Olivier
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research InstituteSeattleUnited States
| | - Tanmoy Sanyal
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Byers Hall, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Andrej Sali
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Byers Hall, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Brian T Chait
- Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry, The Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Michael P Rout
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - John D Aitchison
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research InstituteSeattleUnited States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of WashingtonSeattleUnited States
- Department of Biochemistry, University of WashingtonSeattleUnited States
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4
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Yang ZS, Li TS, Huang YS, Chang CC, Chien CM. Targeting the receptor binding domain and heparan sulfate binding for antiviral drug development against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2753. [PMID: 38307890 PMCID: PMC10837157 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53111-2] [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: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants diminished the efficacy of current antiviral drugs and vaccines. Hence, identifying highly conserved sequences and potentially druggable pockets for drug development was a promising strategy against SARS-CoV-2 variants. In viral infection, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) proteins are essential in binding to the host receptor. Others, Heparan sulfate (HS), widely distributed on the surface of host cells, is thought to play a central role in the viral infection cycle of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it might be a reasonable strategy for antiviral drug design to interfere with the RBD in the HS binding site. In this study, we used computational approaches to analyze multiple sequences of coronaviruses and reveal important information about the binding of HS to RBD in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Our results showed that the potential hot-spots, including R454 and E471, in RBD, exhibited strong interactions in the HS-RBD binding region. Therefore, we screened different compounds in the natural product database towards these hot-spots to find potential antiviral candidates using LibDock, Autodock vina and furthermore applying the MD simulation in AMBER20. The results showed three potential natural compounds, including Acetoside (ACE), Hyperoside (HYP), and Isoquercitrin (ISO), had a strong affinity to the RBD. Our results demonstrate a feasible approach to identify potential antiviral agents by evaluating the binding interaction between viral glycoproteins and host receptors. The present study provided the applications of the structure-based computational approach for designing and developing of new antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Sin Yang
- Department of Medical Sciences Industry, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, 711, Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
| | - Tzong-Shiun Li
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Sung Huang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Chung Chang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Ming Chien
- Department of Medical Sciences Industry, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, 711, Taiwan.
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5
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Ketaren NE, Mast FD, Fridy PC, Olivier JP, Sanyal T, Sali A, Chait BT, Rout MP, Aitchison JD. Nanobody repertoire generated against the spike protein of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 remains efficacious against the rapidly evolving virus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.14.549041. [PMID: 37503298 PMCID: PMC10369967 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.14.549041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
To date, all major modes of monoclonal antibody therapy targeting SARS-CoV-2 have lost significant efficacy against the latest circulating variants. As SARS-CoV-2 omicron sublineages account for over 90% of COVID-19 infections, evasion of immune responses generated by vaccination or exposure to previous variants poses a significant challenge. A compelling new therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 is that of single domain antibodies, termed nanobodies, which address certain limitations of monoclonal antibodies. Here we demonstrate that our high-affinity nanobody repertoire, generated against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (Mast, Fridy et al. 2021), remains effective against variants of concern, including omicron BA.4/BA.5; a subset is predicted to counter resistance in emerging XBB and BQ.1.1 sublineages. Furthermore, we reveal the synergistic potential of nanobody cocktails in neutralizing emerging variants. Our study highlights the power of nanobody technology as a versatile therapeutic and diagnostic tool to combat rapidly evolving infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia E. Ketaren
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Fred D. Mast
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA
| | - Peter C. Fridy
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Jean Paul Olivier
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA
| | - Tanmoy Sanyal
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Byers Hall, 1700 4th Street, Suite 503B, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Andrej Sali
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Byers Hall, 1700 4th Street, Suite 503B, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Brian T. Chait
- Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Michael P. Rout
- Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - John D. Aitchison
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
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6
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Beltrán D, Hospital A, Gelpí JL, Orozco M. A new paradigm for molecular dynamics databases: the COVID-19 database, the legacy of a titanic community effort. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D393-D403. [PMID: 37953362 PMCID: PMC10767965 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad991] [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: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are keeping computers busy around the world, generating a huge amount of data that is typically not open to the scientific community. Pioneering efforts to ensure the safety and reusability of MD data have been based on the use of simple databases providing a limited set of standard analyses on single-short trajectories. Despite their value, these databases do not offer a true solution for the current community of MD users, who want a flexible analysis pipeline and the possibility to address huge non-Markovian ensembles of large systems. Here we present a new paradigm for MD databases, resilient to large systems and long trajectories, and designed to be compatible with modern MD simulations. The data are offered to the community through a web-based graphical user interface (GUI), implemented with state-of-the-art technology, which incorporates system-specific analysis designed by the trajectory providers. A REST API and associated Jupyter Notebooks are integrated into the platform, allowing fully customized meta-analysis by final users. The new technology is illustrated using a collection of trajectories obtained by the community in the context of the effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The server is accessible at https://bioexcel-cv19.bsc.es/#/. It is free and open to all users and there are no login requirements. It is also integrated into the simulations section of the BioExcel-MolSSI COVID-19 Molecular Structure and Therapeutics Hub: https://covid.molssi.org/simulations/ and is part of the MDDB effort (https://mddbr.eu).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Beltrán
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adam Hospital
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Lluís Gelpí
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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7
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Gabdoulkhakova AG, Mingaleeva RN, Romozanova AM, Sagdeeva AR, Filina YV, Rizvanov AA, Miftakhova RR. Immunology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2024; 89:65-83. [PMID: 38467546 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297924010048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
According to the data from the World Health Organization, about 800 million of the world population had contracted coronavirus infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 by mid-2023. Properties of this virus have allowed it to circulate in the human population for a long time, evolving defense mechanisms against the host immune system. Severity of the disease depends largely on the degree of activation of the systemic immune response, including overstimulation of macrophages and monocytes, cytokine production, and triggering of adaptive T- and B-cell responses, while SARS-CoV-2 evades the immune system actions. In this review, we discuss immune responses triggered in response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus entry into the cell and malfunctions of the immune system that lead to the development of severe disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida G Gabdoulkhakova
- Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008, Russia.
- Kazan State Medical Academy - Branch Campus of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Further Professional Education "Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education" of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Kazan, 420012, Russia
| | | | | | | | | | - Albert A Rizvanov
- Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008, Russia
- Division of Medical and Biological Sciences, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Kazan, 420111, Russia
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8
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Baardsnes J, Paul-Roc B. SARS-CoV-2S-Protein-Ace2 Binding Analysis Using Surface Plasmon Resonance. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2762:71-87. [PMID: 38315360 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3666-4_5] [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: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allows for the label-free determination of the binding affinity and rate constants of bimolecular interactions. Here, we describe the method used for the analysis of the Ace2-SARS-CoV2 S-protein interaction using indirect capture of the S-protein onto the SPR surface, and flowing monomeric Ace2. This method will allow for the determination of the rate constants for affinity, with additional analysis that is achievable using S-protein capture levels in conjunction with the sensorgram response for relative activity benchmarking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Baardsnes
- Quality Attributes and Characterization, Human Health Therapeutics, National Research Council Canada, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Béatrice Paul-Roc
- Quality Attributes and Characterization, Human Health Therapeutics, National Research Council Canada, Montréal, QC, Canada
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9
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Zhang X, Weiß T, Cheng MH, Chen S, Ambrosius CK, Czerniak AS, Li K, Feng M, Bahar I, Beck-Sickinger AG, Zhang C. Structural basis of G protein-Coupled receptor CMKLR1 activation and signaling induced by a chemerin-derived agonist. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002188. [PMID: 38055679 PMCID: PMC10699647 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002188] [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: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1), also known as chemerin receptor 23 (ChemR23) or chemerin receptor 1, is a chemoattractant G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that responds to the adipokine chemerin and is highly expressed in innate immune cells, including macrophages and neutrophils. The signaling pathways of CMKLR1 can lead to both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects depending on the ligands and physiological contexts. To understand the molecular mechanisms of CMKLR1 signaling, we determined a high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the CMKLR1-Gi signaling complex with chemerin9, a nanopeptide agonist derived from chemerin, which induced complex phenotypic changes of macrophages in our assays. The cryo-EM structure, together with molecular dynamics simulations and mutagenesis studies, revealed the molecular basis of CMKLR1 signaling by elucidating the interactions at the ligand-binding pocket and the agonist-induced conformational changes. Our results are expected to facilitate the development of small molecule CMKLR1 agonists that mimic the action of chemerin9 to promote the resolution of inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Tina Weiß
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mary Hongying Cheng
- Department of Computational and System Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Siqi Chen
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | | | - Anne Sophie Czerniak
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kunpeng Li
- Cryo-EM core facility, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mingye Feng
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | - Ivet Bahar
- Department of Computational and System Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Cheng Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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10
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Zaman N, Parvaiz N, Gul F, Yousaf R, Gul K, Azam SS. Dynamics of water-mediated interaction effects on the stability and transmission of Omicron. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20894. [PMID: 38017052 PMCID: PMC10684572 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48186-2] [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: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
SARS-Cov-2 Omicron variant and its highly transmissible sublineages amidst news of emerging hybrid variants strengthen the evidence of its ability to rapidly spread and evolve giving rise to unprecedented future waves. Owing to the presence of isolated RBD, monomeric and trimeric Cryo-EM structures of spike protein in complex with ACE2 receptor, comparative analysis of Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron assist in a rational assessment of their probability to evolve as new or hybrid variants in future. This study proposes the role of hydration forces in mediating Omicron function and dynamics based on a stronger interplay between protein and solvent with each Covid wave. Mutations of multiple hydrophobic residues into hydrophilic residues underwent concerted interactions with water leading to variations in charge distribution in Delta and Omicron during molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, comparative analysis of interacting moieties characterized a large number of mutations lying at RBD into constrained, homologous and low-affinity groups referred to as mutational drivers inferring that the probability of future mutations relies on their function. Furthermore, the computational findings reveal a significant difference in angular distances among variants of concern due 3 amino acid insertion (EPE) in Omicron variant that not only facilitates tight domain organization but also seems requisite for characterization of mutational processes. The outcome of this work signifies the possible relation between hydration forces, their impact on conformation and binding affinities, and viral fitness that will significantly aid in understanding dynamics of drug targets for Covid-19 countermeasures. The emerging scenario is that hydration forces and hydrophobic interactions are crucial variables to probe in mutational analysis to explore conformational landscape of macromolecules and reveal the molecular origins of protein behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naila Zaman
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Nousheen Parvaiz
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Fouzia Gul
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Rimsha Yousaf
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Kainat Gul
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Syed Sikander Azam
- Computational Biology Lab, National Center for Bioinformatics (NCB), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
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11
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Pitsillou E, Yu Y, Beh RC, Liang JJ, Hung A, Karagiannis TC. Chronicling the 3-year evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of disease management, characteristics of major variants, and impacts on pathogenicity. Clin Exp Med 2023; 23:3277-3298. [PMID: 37615803 DOI: 10.1007/s10238-023-01168-0] [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: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Announced on December 31, 2019, the novel coronavirus arising in Wuhan City, Hubei Province resulted in millions of cases and lives lost. Following intense tracking, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the cause of COVID-19 and the continuous evolution of the virus has given rise to several variants. In this review, a comprehensive analysis of the response to the pandemic over the first three-year period is provided, focusing on disease management, development of vaccines and therapeutics, and identification of variants. The transmissibility and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 variants including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron are compared. The binding characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and reproduction numbers are evaluated. The effects of major variants on disease severity, hospitalisation, and case-fatality rates are outlined. In addition to the spike protein, open reading frames mutations are investigated. We also compare the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 with SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Overall, this study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the global response to the pandemic, as well as the importance of prevention and preparedness. Monitoring the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 is critical in identifying and potentially predicting the health outcomes of concerning variants as they emerge. The ultimate goal would be a position in which existing vaccines and therapeutics could be adapted to suit new variants in as close to real-time as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Pitsillou
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at prospED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
- School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Yiping Yu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Raymond C Beh
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at prospED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
- School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Julia J Liang
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at prospED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
- School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Andrew Hung
- School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Tom C Karagiannis
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at prospED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
- Department of Clinical Pathology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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12
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Ghoula M, Deyawe Kongmeneck A, Eid R, Camproux AC, Moroy G. Comparative Study of the Mutations Observed in the SARS-CoV-2 RBD Variants of Concern and Their Impact on the Interaction with the ACE2 Protein. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:8586-8602. [PMID: 37775095 PMCID: PMC10578311 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c01467] [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: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 strains have made an appearance across the globe, causing over 757 million cases and over 6.85 million deaths at the time of writing. The emergence of these variants shows the amplitude of genetic variation to which the wild-type strains have been subjected. The rise of the different SARS-CoV-2 variants resulting from such genetic modification has significantly affected COVD-19's major impact on proliferation, virulence, and clinics. With the emergence of the variants of concern, the spike protein has been identified as a possible therapeutic target due to its critical role in binding to human cells and pathogenesis. These mutations could be linked to functional heterogeneity and use a different infection strategy. For example, the Omicron variant's multiple mutations should be carefully examined, as they represent one of the most widely spread strains and hint to us that there may be more genetic changes in the virus. As a result, we applied a common protocol where we reconstructed SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and performed molecular dynamics simulations to study the stability of the ACE2-RBD complex in each variant. We also carried out free energy calculations to compare the binding and biophysical properties of the different SARS-CoV-2 variants when they interact with ACE2. Therefore, we were able to obtain consistent results and uncover new crucial residues that were essential for preserving a balance between maintaining a high affinity for ACE2 and the capacity to evade RBD-targeted antibodies. Our detailed structural analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern show a higher affinity for ACE2 compared to the Wuhan strain. Additionally, residues K417N and E484K/A might play a crucial role in antibody evasion, whereas Q498R and N501Y are specifically mutated to strengthen RBD affinity to ACE2 and, thereby, increase the viral effect of the COVID-19 virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariem Ghoula
- Université de Paris, CNRS,
INSERM, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Audrey Deyawe Kongmeneck
- Université de Paris, CNRS,
INSERM, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Rita Eid
- Université de Paris, CNRS,
INSERM, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Anne-Claude Camproux
- Université de Paris, CNRS,
INSERM, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Gautier Moroy
- Université de Paris, CNRS,
INSERM, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, F-75013 Paris, France
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13
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Teruel N, Borges VM, Najmanovich R. Surfaces: a software to quantify and visualize interactions within and between proteins and ligands. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad608. [PMID: 37788107 PMCID: PMC10568369 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad608] [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: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY Computational methods for the quantification and visualization of the relative contribution of molecular interactions to the stability of biomolecular structures and complexes are fundamental to understand, modulate and engineer biological processes. Here, we present Surfaces, an easy to use, fast and customizable software for quantification and visualization of molecular interactions based on the calculation of surface areas in contact. Surfaces calculations shows equivalent or better correlations with experimental data as computationally expensive methods based on molecular dynamics. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION All scripts are available at https://github.com/NRGLab/Surfaces. Surface's documentation is available at https://surfaces-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália Teruel
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Vinicius Magalhães Borges
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA
| | - Rafael Najmanovich
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal H3T 1J4, Canada
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14
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Mondol SM, Hasib M, Limon MBH, Alam ASMRU. Insights into Omicron's Low Fusogenicity through In Silico Molecular Studies on Spike-Furin Interactions. Bioinform Biol Insights 2023; 17:11779322231189371. [PMID: 37529484 PMCID: PMC10387760 DOI: 10.1177/11779322231189371] [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: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant and its subvariants have a unique set of mutations. Two of those mutations (N679 K and P681 H) reside close to the S1 /S2 furin cleavage site (FCS; 685-686). When these mutations reside together, they exert less-efficient membrane fusion than wild type and most other variants of concern such as the Delta variant. Here, we in silico targeted these mutations to find out which of the amino acids and interactions change plays the key role in fusion. To comprehend the epistatic effect of N679 K and P681 H mutations on the spike protein, we in silico constructed three types of spike protein sequences by changing the respective amino acids on 679 and 681 positions (P681 H, N679 K, K679 N-H681 P variants). We then analyzed the binding affinity of furin and spike (Furin-Wild, Furin-Omicron, Furin-P681 H, Furin-N679 K, and Furin-K679 N/H681 P) complexes. Omicron and P681 H variants showed a similar higher binding energy trend compared to the wild type and N679 K. The variation in hydrogen, hydrophobic, and salt bridge bonds between spike protein and furin provided an explanation for the observed low fusogenicity of Omicron. The fate of the epistasis in furin binding and possible cleavage depends on the efficient interaction between FCS in spike and furin catalytic triad, and in addition, the loss of the hydrogen bond between Arg 681 (spike) and Asn 295 (furin) along with inhibitor-like ineffective higher affinity plays an important role in the enzymatic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Md Hasib
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Barishal, Barishal, Bangladesh
| | | | - A S M Rubayet Ul Alam
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
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15
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Sergeeva AP, Katsamba PS, Liao J, Sampson JM, Bahna F, Mannepalli S, Morano NC, Shapiro L, Friesner RA, Honig B. Free Energy Perturbation Calculations of Mutation Effects on SARS-CoV-2 RBD::ACE2 Binding Affinity. J Mol Biol 2023:168187. [PMID: 37355034 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
The strength of binding between human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the receptor binding domain (RBD) of viral spike protein plays a role in the transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this study we focus on a subset of RBD mutations that have been frequently observed in infected individuals and probe binding affinity changes to ACE2 using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements and free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations. Our SPR results are largely in accord with previous studies but discrepancies do arise due to differences in experimental methods and to protocol differences even when a single method is used. Overall, we find that FEP performance is superior to that of other computational approaches examined as determined by agreement with experiment and, in particular, by its ability to identify stabilizing mutations. Moreover, the calculations successfully predict the observed cooperative stabilization of binding by the Q498R N501Y double mutant present in Omicron variants and offer a physical explanation for the underlying mechanism. Overall, our results suggest that despite the significant computational cost, FEP calculations may offer an effective strategy to understand the effects of interfacial mutations on protein-protein binding affinities and, hence, in a variety of practical applications such as the optimization of neutralizing antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina P Sergeeva
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
| | - Phinikoula S Katsamba
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Junzhuo Liao
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Jared M Sampson
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Schrödinger, Inc., New York, NY 10036, USA
| | - Fabiana Bahna
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Seetha Mannepalli
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Nicholas C Morano
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Lawrence Shapiro
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | | | - Barry Honig
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032; Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
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16
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Zhang X, Weiß T, Cheng MH, Chen S, Ambrosius CK, Czerniak AS, Li K, Feng M, Bahar I, Beck-Sickinger AG, Zhang C. Structural basis of CMKLR1 signaling induced by chemerin9. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.09.544295. [PMID: 37333145 PMCID: PMC10274904 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.09.544295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1), also known as chemerin receptor 23 (ChemR23) or chemerin receptor 1, is a chemoattractant G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that responds to the adipokine chemerin and is highly expressed in innate immune cells, including macrophages and neutrophils. The signaling pathways of CMKLR1 can lead to both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects depending on the ligands and physiological contexts. To understand the molecular mechanisms of CMKLR1 signaling, we determined a high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the CMKLR1-Gi signaling complex with chemerin9, a nanopeptide agonist derived from chemerin, which induced complex phenotypic changes of macrophages in our assays. The cryo-EM structure, together with molecular dynamics simulations and mutagenesis studies, revealed the molecular basis of CMKLR1 signaling by elucidating the interactions at the ligand-binding pocket and the agonist-induced conformational changes. Our results are expected to facilitate the development of small molecule CMKLR1 agonists that mimic the action of chemerin9 to promote the resolution of inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15261, USA
| | - Tina Weiß
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Brüderstraße 34, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mary Hongying Cheng
- Department of Computational and System Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11974, USA
| | - Siqi Chen
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Carla Katharina Ambrosius
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Brüderstraße 34, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anne Sophie Czerniak
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Brüderstraße 34, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kunpeng Li
- Cryo-EM core facility, Case Western Reserve University, OH44106, USA
| | - Mingye Feng
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Ivet Bahar
- Department of Computational and System Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11974, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11974, USA
| | - Annette G. Beck-Sickinger
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Brüderstraße 34, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15261, USA
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17
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Kumar R, Srivastava Y, Muthuramalingam P, Singh SK, Verma G, Tiwari S, Tandel N, Beura SK, Panigrahi AR, Maji S, Sharma P, Rai PK, Prajapati DK, Shin H, Tyagi RK. Understanding Mutations in Human SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein: A Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis. Viruses 2023; 15:856. [PMID: 37112836 PMCID: PMC10142771 DOI: 10.3390/v15040856] [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: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variant(s) of concern (VoC) of SARS-CoV-2 have been emerging worldwide due to mutations in the gene encoding spike glycoprotein. We performed comprehensive analyses of spike protein mutations in the significant variant clade of SARS-CoV-2, using the data available on the Nextstrain server. We selected various mutations, namely, A222V, N439K, N501Y, L452R, Y453F, E484K, K417N, T478K, L981F, L212I, N856K, T547K, G496S, and Y369C for this study. These mutations were chosen based on their global entropic score, emergence, spread, transmission, and their location in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD). The relative abundance of these mutations was mapped with global mutation D614G as a reference. Our analyses suggest the rapid emergence of newer global mutations alongside D614G, as reported during the recent waves of COVID-19 in various parts of the world. These mutations could be instrumentally imperative for the transmission, infectivity, virulence, and host immune system's evasion of SARS-CoV-2. The probable impact of these mutations on vaccine effectiveness, antigenic diversity, antibody interactions, protein stability, RBD flexibility, and accessibility to human cell receptor ACE2 was studied in silico. Overall, the present study can help researchers to design the next generation of vaccines and biotherapeutics to combat COVID-19 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reetesh Kumar
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Applied Sciences & Humanities, GLA University, Mathura 281406, India
- Department of Biotherapeutics, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh 160036, India
| | - Yogesh Srivastava
- Department of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Pandiyan Muthuramalingam
- Division of Horticultural Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Republic of Korea
| | - Sunil Kumar Singh
- Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda, Bathinda 151401, India
| | - Geetika Verma
- Department of Biotherapeutics, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh 160036, India
| | - Savitri Tiwari
- Division of Life Sciences, Department of Biosciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Galgotias University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Greater Noida 201310, India
| | - Nikunj Tandel
- Institute of Science, Nirma University, SG Highway, Gujarat 382481, India
| | - Samir Kumar Beura
- Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda, Bathinda 151401, India
| | | | - Somnath Maji
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Prakriti Sharma
- Biomedical Parasitology and Translational-Immunology Lab, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh 160036, India
| | - Pankaj Kumar Rai
- Department of Biotechnology, IIET, Invertis University, Bareilly 243001, India
| | | | - Hyunsuk Shin
- Division of Horticultural Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Republic of Korea
| | - Rajeev K. Tyagi
- Biomedical Parasitology and Translational-Immunology Lab, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh 160036, India
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18
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Gomari MM, Tarighi P, Choupani E, Abkhiz S, Mohamadzadeh M, Rostami N, Sadroddiny E, Baammi S, Uversky VN, Dokholyan NV. Structural evolution of Delta lineage of SARS-CoV-2. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 226:1116-1140. [PMID: 36435470 PMCID: PMC9683856 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
One of the main obstacles in prevention and treatment of COVID-19 is the rapid evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Given that Spike is the main target of common treatments of COVID-19, mutations occurring at this virulent factor can affect the effectiveness of treatments. The B.1.617.2 lineage of SARS-CoV-2, being characterized by many Spike mutations inside and outside of its receptor-binding domain (RBD), shows high infectivity and relative resistance to existing cures. Here, utilizing a wide range of computational biology approaches, such as immunoinformatics, molecular dynamics (MD), analysis of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), protein-protein interaction analyses, residue scanning, and free energy calculations, we examine the structural and biological attributes of the B.1.617.2 Spike protein. Furthermore, the antibody design protocol of Rosetta was implemented for evaluation the stability and affinity improvement of the Bamlanivimab (LY-CoV55) antibody, which is not capable of interactions with the B.1.617.2 Spike. We observed that the detected mutations in the Spike of the B1.617.2 variant of concern can cause extensive structural changes compatible with the described variation in immunogenicity, secondary and tertiary structure, oligomerization potency, Furin cleavability, and drug targetability. Compared to the Spike of Wuhan lineage, the B.1.617.2 Spike is more stable and binds to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with higher affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mahmoudi Gomari
- Student Research Committee, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran,Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
| | - Parastoo Tarighi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
| | - Edris Choupani
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
| | - Shadi Abkhiz
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
| | - Masoud Mohamadzadeh
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas 7916193145, Iran
| | - Neda Rostami
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Arak University, Arak 3848177584, Iran
| | - Esmaeil Sadroddiny
- Medical Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran
| | - Soukayna Baammi
- African Genome Centre (AGC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir 43150, Morocco
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA,Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141700 Dolgoprudny, Russia,Correspondence to: V.N. Uversky, Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Nikolay V. Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 16802, USA,Corresponding author
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19
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Serna García G, Al Khalaf R, Invernici F, Ceri S, Bernasconi A. CoVEffect: interactive system for mining the effects of SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variants based on deep learning. Gigascience 2022; 12:giad036. [PMID: 37222749 PMCID: PMC10205000 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giad036] [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: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Literature about SARS-CoV-2 widely discusses the effects of variations that have spread in the past 3 years. Such information is dispersed in the texts of several research articles, hindering the possibility of practically integrating it with related datasets (e.g., millions of SARS-CoV-2 sequences available to the community). We aim to fill this gap, by mining literature abstracts to extract-for each variant/mutation-its related effects (in epidemiological, immunological, clinical, or viral kinetics terms) with labeled higher/lower levels in relation to the nonmutated virus. RESULTS The proposed framework comprises (i) the provisioning of abstracts from a COVID-19-related big data corpus (CORD-19) and (ii) the identification of mutation/variant effects in abstracts using a GPT2-based prediction model. The above techniques enable the prediction of mutations/variants with their effects and levels in 2 distinct scenarios: (i) the batch annotation of the most relevant CORD-19 abstracts and (ii) the on-demand annotation of any user-selected CORD-19 abstract through the CoVEffect web application (http://gmql.eu/coveffect), which assists expert users with semiautomated data labeling. On the interface, users can inspect the predictions and correct them; user inputs can then extend the training dataset used by the prediction model. Our prototype model was trained through a carefully designed process, using a minimal and highly diversified pool of samples. CONCLUSIONS The CoVEffect interface serves for the assisted annotation of abstracts, allowing the download of curated datasets for further use in data integration or analysis pipelines. The overall framework can be adapted to resolve similar unstructured-to-structured text translation tasks, which are typical of biomedical domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Serna García
- Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Bioingegneria, 20133 Milano Country: Italy, Italy
| | - Ruba Al Khalaf
- Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Bioingegneria, 20133 Milano Country: Italy, Italy
| | - Francesco Invernici
- Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Bioingegneria, 20133 Milano Country: Italy, Italy
| | - Stefano Ceri
- Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Bioingegneria, 20133 Milano Country: Italy, Italy
| | - Anna Bernasconi
- Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Bioingegneria, 20133 Milano Country: Italy, Italy
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20
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Zhang X, Waffo AT, Yarman A, Kovács N, Bognár Z, Wollenberger U, El-Sherbiny IM, Hassan RYA, Bier FF, Gyurcsányi RE, Zebger I, Scheller FW. How an ACE2 mimicking epitope-MIP nanofilm recognizes template-related peptides and the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:18106-18114. [PMID: 36448745 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr03898f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Here we aim to gain a mechanistic understanding of the formation of epitope-imprinted polymer nanofilms using a non-terminal peptide sequence, i.e. the peptide GFNCYFP (G485 to P491) of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD). This epitope is chemisorbed on the gold surface through the central cysteine 488 followed by the electrosynthesis of a ∼5 nm thick polyscopoletin film around the surface confined templates. The interaction of peptides and the parent RBD and spike protein with the imprinted polyscopoletin nanofilm was followed by electrochemical redox marker gating, surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy and conductive AFM. Because the use of non-terminal epitopes is especially intricate, here we characterize the binding pockets through their interaction with 5 peptides rationally derived from the template sequence, i.e. implementing central single amino acid mismatch as well as elongations and truncations at its C- and N- termini. Already a single amino acid mismatch, i.e. the central Cys488 substituted by a serine, results in ca. 15-fold lower affinity. Further truncation of the peptides to tetrapeptide (EGFN) and hexapeptide (YFPLQS) results also in a significantly lower affinity. We concluded that the affinity towards the different peptides is mainly determined by the four amino acid motif CYFP present in the sequence of the template peptide. A higher affinity than that for the peptides is found for the parent proteins RBD and spike protein, which seems to be due to out of cavity effects caused by their larger footprint on the nanofilm surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaorong Zhang
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Armel T Waffo
- Institut für Chemie, PC 14 Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Aysu Yarman
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
- Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Turkish-German University, Sahinkaya Cad, 86, Beykoz, Istanbul 34820, Turkey
| | - Norbert Kovács
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Zsófia Bognár
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary.
- ELKH-BME Computation Driven Chemistry Research Group, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ulla Wollenberger
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Ibrahim M El-Sherbiny
- Nanoscience Program, University of Science and Technology (UST) & Center for Materials Science (CMS), Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12578, Egypt
| | - Rabeay Y A Hassan
- Nanoscience Program, University of Science and Technology (UST) & Center for Materials Science (CMS), Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12578, Egypt
| | - Frank F Bier
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Róbert E Gyurcsányi
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary.
- ELKH-BME Computation Driven Chemistry Research Group, Műegyetem rkp. 3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ingo Zebger
- Institut für Chemie, PC 14 Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Frieder W Scheller
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
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21
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Chan KC, Song Y, Xu Z, Shang C, Zhou R. SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant: Interplay between Individual Mutations and Their Allosteric Synergy. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12121742. [PMID: 36551170 PMCID: PMC9775976 DOI: 10.3390/biom12121742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its first appearance in April 2021, B.1.617.2, also termed variant Delta, catalyzed one major worldwide wave dominating the second year of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite its quick disappearance worldwide, the strong virulence caused by a few point mutations remains an unsolved problem largely. Along with the other two sublineages, the Delta variant harbors an accumulation of Spike protein mutations, including the previously identified L452R, E484Q, and the newly emerged T478K on its receptor binding domain (RBD). We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in combination with free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations, to examine the effects of two combinative mutation sets, L452R + E484Q and L452R + T478K. Our dynamic trajectories reveal an enhancement in binding affinity between mutated RBD and the common receptor protein angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) through a net increase in the buried molecular surface area of the binary complex. This enhanced binding, mediated through Gln493, sets the same stage for all three sublineages due to the presence of L452R mutation. The other mutation component, E484Q or T478K, was found to impact the RBD-ACE2 binding and help the variant to evade several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in a distinct manner. Especially for L452R + T478K, synergies between mutations are mediated through a complex residual and water interaction network and further enhance its binding to ACE2. Taking together, this study demonstrates that new variants of SARS-CoV-2 accomplish both "attack" (infection) and "defense" (antibody neutralization escape) with the same "polished sword" (mutated Spike RBD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin C. Chan
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, 799 Dangui Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yi Song
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zheng Xu
- BirenTech Research, Shanghai 201112, China
| | - Chun Shang
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ruhong Zhou
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, 799 Dangui Road, Shanghai 201203, China
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Correspondence:
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22
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Rudi E, Martin Aispuro P, Zurita E, Gonzalez Lopez Ledesma M, Bottero D, Malito J, Gabrielli M, Gaillard E, Stuible M, Durocher Y, Gamarnik A, Wigdorovitz A, Hozbor D. Immunological study of COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on recombinant spike trimer protein from different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1020159. [PMID: 36248791 PMCID: PMC9560800 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1020159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergency of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that feature increased immune escape marks an urgent demand for better vaccines that will provide broader immunogenicity. Here, we evaluated the immunogenic capacity of vaccine candidates based on the recombinant trimeric spike protein (S) of different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC), including the ancestral Wuhan, Beta and Delta viruses. In particular, we assessed formulations containing either single or combined S protein variants. Our study shows that the formulation containing the single S protein from the ancestral Wuhan virus at a concentration of 2µg (SW2-Vac 2µg) displayed in the mouse model the highest IgG antibody levels against all the three (Wuhan, Beta, and Delta) SARS-CoV-2 S protein variants tested. In addition, this formulation induced significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against the three viral variants when compared with authorized Gam-COVID-Vac-rAd26/rAd5 (Sputnik V) or ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) vaccines. SW2-Vac 2µg was also able to induce IFN-gamma and IL-17, memory CD4 populations and follicular T cells. Used as a booster dose for schedules performed with different authorized vaccines, SW2-Vac 2µg vaccine candidate also induced higher levels of total IgG and IgG isotypes against S protein from different SARS-CoV-2 variants in comparison with those observed with homologous 3-dose schedule of Sputnik V or AstraZeneca. Moreover, SW2-Vac 2µg booster induced broadly strong neutralizing antibody levels against the three tested SARS-CoV-2 variants. SW2-Vac 2µg booster also induced CD4+ central memory, CD4+ effector and CD8+ populations. Overall, the results demonstrate that SW2-Vac 2 µg is a promising formulation for the development of a next generation COVID-19 vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Rudi
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Pablo Martin Aispuro
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Eugenia Zurita
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | | | - Daniela Bottero
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Juan Malito
- INCUINTA INTA, CONICET, HURLINGHAM, INTA Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magali Gabrielli
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Emilia Gaillard
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Matthew Stuible
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Center, National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Yves Durocher
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Center, National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Andrés Wigdorovitz
- INCUINTA INTA, CONICET, HURLINGHAM, INTA Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Daniela Hozbor
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
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23
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Zhang Z, Zhang J, Wang J. Surface charge changes in spike RBD mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and its variant strains alter the virus evasiveness via HSPGs: A review and mechanistic hypothesis. Front Public Health 2022; 10:952916. [PMID: 36091499 PMCID: PMC9449321 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.952916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, more contagious SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron, have been emerging. The mutations, especially those that occurred on the spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD), are of significant concern due to their potential capacity to increase viral infectivity, virulence, and breakthrough antibodies' protection. However, the molecular mechanism involved in the pathophysiological change of SARS-CoV-2 mutations remains poorly understood. Here, we summarized 21 RBD mutations and their human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) and/or neutralizing antibodies' binding characteristics. We found that most RBD mutations, which could increase surface positive charge or polarity, enhanced their hACE2 binding affinity and immune evasion. Based on the dependence of electrostatic interaction of the epitope residue of virus and docking protein (like virus receptors or antibodies) for its invasion, we postulated that the charge and/or polarity changes of novel mutations on the RBD domain of S protein could affect its affinity for the hACE2 and antibodies. Thus, we modeled mutant S trimers and RBD-hACE2 complexes and calculated their electrotactic distribution to study surface charge changes. Meanwhile, we emphasized that heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) might play an important role in the hACE2-mediated entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells. Those hypotheses provide some hints on how SARS-CoV-2 mutations enhance viral fitness and immune evasion, which may indicate potential ways for drug design, next-generation vaccine development, and antibody therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyun Zhang
- Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the National Health Commission of the PR China, Shanghai National Center for Translational Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the National Health Commission of the PR China, Shanghai National Center for Translational Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiqiu Wang
- Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the National Health Commission of the PR China, Shanghai National Center for Translational Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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24
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Role of the Pangolin in Origin of SARS-CoV-2: An Evolutionary Perspective. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23169115. [PMID: 36012377 PMCID: PMC9408936 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23169115] [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: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
After the recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, unanswered questions remain related to its evolutionary history, path of transmission or divergence and role of recombination. There is emerging evidence on amino acid substitutions occurring in key residues of the receptor-binding domain of the spike glycoprotein in coronavirus isolates from bat and pangolins. In this article, we summarize our current knowledge on the origin of SARS-CoV-2. We also analyze the host ACE2-interacting residues of the receptor-binding domain of spike glycoprotein in SARS-CoV-2 isolates from bats, and compare it to pangolin SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected from Guangdong province (GD Pangolin-CoV) and Guangxi autonomous regions (GX Pangolin-CoV) of South China. Based on our comparative analysis, we support the view that the Guangdong Pangolins are the intermediate hosts that adapted the SARS-CoV-2 and represented a significant evolutionary link in the path of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. We also discuss the role of intermediate hosts in the origin of Omicron.
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25
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Impact of the temperature on the interactions between common variants of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain and the human ACE2. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11520. [PMID: 35798770 PMCID: PMC9261887 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15215-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Several key mutations in the Spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) have been identified to influence its affinity for the human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here, we perform a comparative study of the ACE2 binding to the wild type (Wuhan) RBD and some of its variants: Alpha B.1.1.7, Beta B.1.351, Delta B.1.617.2, Kappa B.1.617.1, B.1.1.7 + L452R and Omicron B.1.1.529. Using a coiled-coil mediated tethering approach of ACE2 in a novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based assay, we measured interactions at different temperatures. Binding experiments at 10 °C enhanced the kinetic dissimilarities between the RBD variants and allowed a proper fit to a Langmuir 1:1 model with high accuracy and reproducibility, thus unraveling subtle differences within RBD mutants and ACE2 glycovariants. Our study emphasizes the importance of SPR-based assay parameters in the acquisition of biologically relevant data and offers a powerful tool to deepen our understanding of the role of the various RBD mutations in ACE2 interaction binding parameters.
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26
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Sun C, Xie C, Bu GL, Zhong LY, Zeng MS. Molecular characteristics, immune evasion, and impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2022; 7:202. [PMID: 35764603 PMCID: PMC9240077 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-01039-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The persistent COVID-19 pandemic since 2020 has brought an enormous public health burden to the global society and is accompanied by various evolution of the virus genome. The consistently emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants harboring critical mutations impact the molecular characteristics of viral proteins and display heterogeneous behaviors in immune evasion, transmissibility, and the clinical manifestation during infection, which differ each strain and endow them with distinguished features during populational spread. Several SARS-CoV-2 variants, identified as Variants of Concern (VOC) by the World Health Organization, challenged global efforts on COVID-19 control due to the rapid worldwide spread and enhanced immune evasion from current antibodies and vaccines. Moreover, the recent Omicron variant even exacerbated the global anxiety in the continuous pandemic. Its significant evasion from current medical treatment and disease control even highlights the necessity of combinatory investigation of the mutational pattern and influence of the mutations on viral dynamics against populational immunity, which would greatly facilitate drug and vaccine development and benefit the global public health policymaking. Hence in this review, we summarized the molecular characteristics, immune evasion, and impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 variants and focused on the parallel comparison of different variants in mutational profile, transmissibility and tropism alteration, treatment effectiveness, and clinical manifestations, in order to provide a comprehensive landscape for SARS-CoV-2 variant research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 510060, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chu Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 510060, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guo-Long Bu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 510060, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lan-Yi Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 510060, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mu-Sheng Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 510060, Guangzhou, China. .,Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for RNA Medicine, 510060, Guangzhou, China.
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27
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Ray D, Quijano RN, Andricioaei I. Point mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants induce long-range dynamical perturbations in neutralizing antibodies. Chem Sci 2022; 13:7224-7239. [PMID: 35799828 PMCID: PMC9214918 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc00534d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies are emerging as a viable treatment for the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). However, newly evolved variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can reduce the efficacy of currently available antibodies and can diminish vaccine-induced immunity. Here, we demonstrate that the microscopic dynamics of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies can be profoundly modified by the mutations present in the spike proteins of the SARS-COV-2 variants currently circulating in the world population. The dynamical perturbations within the antibody structure, which alter the thermodynamics of antigen recognition, are diverse and can depend both on the nature of the antibody and on the spatial location of the spike mutation. The correlation between the motion of the antibody and that of the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) can also be changed, modulating binding affinity. Using protein-graph-connectivity networks, we delineated the mutant-induced modifications in the information-flow along allosteric pathway throughout the antibody. Changes in the collective dynamics were spatially distributed both locally and across long-range distances within the antibody. On the receptor side, we identified an anchor-like structural element that prevents the detachment of the antibodies; individual mutations there can significantly affect the antibody binding propensity. Our study provides insight into how virus neutralization by monoclonal antibodies can be impacted by local mutations in the epitope via a change in dynamics. This realization adds a new layer of sophistication to the efforts for rational design of monoclonal antibodies against new variants of SARS-CoV2, taking the allostery in the antibody into consideration. Mutations in the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein modulates the dynamics of the neutralizing antibodies. Capturing such modulations from MD simulations and graph network model identifies the role of mutations in facilitating immune evasion.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhiman Ray
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine Irvine CA 92697 USA
| | | | - Ioan Andricioaei
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine Irvine CA 92697 USA .,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Irvine Irvine CA 92697 USA
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