1
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Santoni D. An entropy-based study on the mutational landscape of SARS-CoV-2 in USA: Comparing different variants and revealing co-mutational behavior of proteins. Gene 2024; 922:148556. [PMID: 38754568 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148556] [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: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
COVID-19 emergency has pushed the international scientific community to use every resource to combat the spread of the virus, to understand its biology and predict its possible evolution in terms of new variants. Since the first SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleotide and amino acid sequences were made available, information theory was used to study how viral information content was changing over time and then trace the evolution of its mutational landscape. In this work we analyzed SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected mainly in the USA in a period from March 2020 until December 2022 and computed mutation profiles of viral proteins over time through an entropy-based approach using Shannon Entropy and Hellinger distance. This representation allows an at-a-glance view of the mutational landscape of viral proteins over time and can provide new insights on the evolution of the virus from different points of view. Non-structural proteins typically showed flat mutation profiles, characterized by a very low Average mutation Entropy, while accessory and structural proteins showed mostly non uniform and high mutation profiles, often coupled with the predominance of variants. Interestingly NSP2 protein, whose function is currently still debated, falls in the same branch of NSP14 and NSP10 in the phylogenetic tree of mutations constructed through correlations of mutation profiles, suggesting a co-evolution of those proteins and a possible functional link with each other. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study based on a massive amount of data (n = 107,939,973) that analyzes from an entropy point of view the mutational landscape of SARS-CoV-2 over time and depicts a mutational temporal profile of each protein of the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Santoni
- Institute for System Analysis and Computer Science "Antonio Ruberti", National Research Council of Italy, Via dei Taurini 19, Rome 00185, Italy.
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2
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Wu HB, Wang CH, Chung YD, Shan YS, Lin YJ, Tsai HP, Lee GB. Highly-specific aptamer targeting SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein screened on an automatic integrated microfluidic system for COVID-19 diagnosis. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1274:341531. [PMID: 37455073 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have evolved such that it may be challenging for diagnosis and clinical treatment of the pandemic coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Compared with developed SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tools recently, aptamers may exhibit some advantages, including high specificity/affinity, longer shelf life (vs. antibodies), and could be easily prepared. Herein an integrated microfluidic system was developed to automatically carry out one novel screening process based on the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) for screening aptamers specific with SARS-CoV-2. The new screening process started with five rounds of positive selection (with the S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2). In addition, including non-target viruses (influenza A and B), human respiratory tract-related cancer cells (adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells and dysplastic oral keratinocytes), and upper respiratory tract-related infectious bacteria (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae), and human saliva were involved to increase the specificity of the screened aptamer during the negative selection. Totally, all 10 rounds could be completed within 20 h. The dissociation constant of the selected aptamer was determined to be 63.0 nM with S1 protein. Limits of detection for Wuhan and Omicron clinical strains were found to be satisfactory for clinical applications (i.e. 4.80 × 101 and 1.95 × 102 copies/mL, respectively). Moreover, the developed aptamer was verified to be capable of capturing inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viruses, eight SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-viruses, and clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2 viruses. For high-variable emerging viruses, this developed integrated microfluidic system can be used to rapidly select highly-specific aptamers based on the novel SELEX methods to deal with infectious diseases in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung-Bin Wu
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Hung Wang
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Da Chung
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Shen Shan
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Jun Lin
- Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Huey-Pin Tsai
- Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
| | - Gwo-Bin Lee
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Institute of NanoEngineering and Microsystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
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3
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Jiao S, Miranda P, Li Y, Maric D, Holmgren M. Some aspects of the life of SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein in mammalian cells. Heliyon 2023; 9:e18754. [PMID: 37609425 PMCID: PMC10440475 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18754] [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: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The accessory protein ORF3a, from SARS-CoV-2, plays a critical role in viral infection and pathogenesis. Here, we characterized ORF3a assembly, ion channel activity, subcellular localization, and interactome. At the plasma membrane, ORF3a exists mostly as monomers and dimers, which do not alter the native cell membrane conductance, suggesting that ORF3a does not function as a viroporin at the cell surface. As a membrane protein, ORF3a is synthesized at the ER and sorted via a canonical route. ORF3a overexpression induced an approximately 25% increase in cell death. By developing an APEX2-based proximity labeling assay, we uncovered proteins proximal to ORF3a, suggesting that ORF3a recruits some host proteins to weaken the cell. In addition, it exposed a set of mitochondria related proteins that triggered mitochondrial fission. Overall, this work can be an important instrument in understanding the role of ORF3a in the virus pathogenicity and searching for potential therapeutic treatments for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Jiao
- Molecular Neurophysiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, MD, USA
| | - Pablo Miranda
- Molecular Neurophysiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, MD, USA
| | - Yan Li
- Proteomics Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, MD, USA
| | - Dragan Maric
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, MD, USA
| | - Miguel Holmgren
- Molecular Neurophysiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, MD, USA
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4
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Kakavandi S, Zare I, VaezJalali M, Dadashi M, Azarian M, Akbari A, Ramezani Farani M, Zalpoor H, Hajikhani B. Structural and non-structural proteins in SARS-CoV-2: potential aspects to COVID-19 treatment or prevention of progression of related diseases. Cell Commun Signal 2023; 21:110. [PMID: 37189112 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-023-01104-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a new member of the Coronaviridae family known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are structural and non-structural proteins (NSPs) in the genome of this virus. S, M, H, and E proteins are structural proteins, and NSPs include accessory and replicase proteins. The structural and NSP components of SARS-CoV-2 play an important role in its infectivity, and some of them may be important in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, including cancer, coagulation disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. The SARS-CoV-2 proteins interact with targets such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 can stimulate pathological intracellular signaling pathways by triggering transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), CD147, and Eph receptors, which play important roles in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis, and multiple cancers such as glioblastoma, lung malignancies, and leukemias. Several compounds such as polyphenols, doxazosin, baricitinib, and ruxolitinib could inhibit these interactions. It has been demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has a stronger affinity for human ACE2 than the spike protein of SARS-CoV, leading the current study to hypothesize that the newly produced variant Omicron receptor-binding domain (RBD) binds to human ACE2 more strongly than the primary strain. SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) viruses against structural and NSPs have become resistant to previous vaccines. Therefore, the review of recent studies and the performance of current vaccines and their effects on COVID-19 and related diseases has become a vital need to deal with the current conditions. This review examines the potential role of these SARS-CoV-2 proteins in the initiation of chronic diseases, and it is anticipated that these proteins could serve as components of an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 and related diseases. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sareh Kakavandi
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Iman Zare
- Research and Development Department, Sina Medical Biochemistry Technologies Co. Ltd., Shiraz, 7178795844, Iran
| | - Maryam VaezJalali
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Masoud Dadashi
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
| | - Maryam Azarian
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Abdullatif Akbari
- Shiraz Neuroscience Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Marzieh Ramezani Farani
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Nano Bio High-Tech Materials Research Center, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea
| | - Hamidreza Zalpoor
- Shiraz Neuroscience Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
- Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran.
| | - Bahareh Hajikhani
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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5
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Li Y, Yang M, Nan Y, Wang J, Wang S, Cui D, Guo J, He P, Dai W, Zhou S, Zhang Y, Ma W. SARS-CoV-2 spike host cell surface exposure promoted by a COPI sorting inhibitor. Acta Pharm Sin B 2023:S2211-3835(23)00123-5. [PMID: 37360012 PMCID: PMC10110937 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2023.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Via an insufficient coat protein complex I (COPI) retrieval signal, the majority of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) is resident in host early secretory organelles and a tiny amount is leaked out in cell surface. Only surface-exposed S can be recognized by B cell receptor (BCR) or anti-S therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that is the trigger step for B cell activation after S mRNA vaccination or infected cell clearance by S mAbs. Now, a drug strategy to promote S host surface exposure is absent. Here, we first combined structural and biochemical analysis to characterize S COPI sorting signals. A potent S COPI sorting inhibitor was then invented, evidently capable of promoting S surface exposure and facilitating infected cell clearance by S antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Importantly, with the inhibitor as a probe, we revealed Omicron BA.1 S is less cell surface exposed than prototypes because of a constellation of S folding mutations, possibly corresponding to its ER chaperone association. Our findings not only suggest COPI is a druggable target against COVID-19, but also highlight SARS-CoV-2 evolution mechanism driven by S folding and trafficking mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Li
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Mingrui Yang
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Yanan Nan
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Jiaming Wang
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Sanjiao Wang
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Dongxiao Cui
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Jiajian Guo
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Pengfei He
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Wenxin Dai
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Shuqi Zhou
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Wenfu Ma
- School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China
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6
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Wang W, Su X, Liu D, Zhang H, Wang X, Zhou Y. Predicting DNA-binding protein and coronavirus protein flexibility using protein dihedral angle and sequence feature. Proteins 2023; 91:497-507. [PMID: 36321218 PMCID: PMC9877568 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The flexibility of protein structure is related to various biological processes, such as molecular recognition, allosteric regulation, catalytic activity, and protein stability. At the molecular level, protein dynamics and flexibility are important factors to understand protein function. DNA-binding proteins and Coronavirus proteins are of great concern and relatively unique proteins. However, exploring the flexibility of DNA-binding proteins and Coronavirus proteins through experiments or calculations is a difficult process. Since protein dihedral rotational motion can be used to predict protein structural changes, it provides key information about protein local conformation. Therefore, this paper introduces a method to improve the accuracy of protein flexibility prediction, DihProFle (Prediction of DNA-binding proteins and Coronavirus proteins flexibility introduces the calculated dihedral Angle information). Based on protein dihedral Angle information, protein evolution information, and amino acid physical and chemical properties, DihProFle realizes the prediction of protein flexibility in two cases on DNA-binding proteins and Coronavirus proteins, and assigns flexibility class to each protein sequence position. In this study, compared with the flexible prediction using sequence evolution information, and physicochemical properties of amino acids, the flexible prediction accuracy based on protein dihedral Angle information, sequence evolution information and physicochemical properties of amino acids improved by 2.2% and 3.1% in the nonstrict and strict conditions, respectively. And DihProFle achieves better performance than previous methods for protein flexibility analysis. In addition, we further analyzed the correlation of amino acid properties and protein dihedral angles with residues flexibility. The results show that the charged hydrophilic residues have higher proportion in the flexible region, and the rigid region tends to be in the angular range of the protein dihedral angle (such as the ψ angle of amino acid residues is more flexible than rigid in the range of 91°-120°). Therefore, the results indicate that hydrophilic residues and protein dihedral angle information play an important role in protein flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- College of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China.,Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Personalized Learning in Education of Henan Province, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xili Su
- College of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Dong Liu
- College of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Hongjun Zhang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Anyang University, Anyang, China
| | - Xianfang Wang
- College of Computer Science and Technology Engineering, Henan Institute of Technology, Xinxiang, China
| | - Yun Zhou
- College of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
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7
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Tomaszewski T, Ali MA, Caetano-Anollés K, Caetano-Anollés G. Seasonal effects decouple SARS-CoV-2 haplotypes worldwide. F1000Res 2023; 12:267. [PMID: 37069849 PMCID: PMC10105261 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.131522.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Variants of concern (VOCs) have been replacing each other during the still rampant COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, SARS-CoV-2 populations have evolved increasingly intricate constellations of mutations that often enhance transmissibility, disease severity, and other epidemiological characteristics. The origin and evolution of these constellations remain puzzling. Methods: Here we study the evolution of VOCs at the proteome level by analyzing about 12 million genomic sequences retrieved from GISAID on July 23, 2022. A total 183,276 mutations were identified and filtered with a relevancy heuristic. The prevalence of haplotypes and free-standing mutations was then tracked monthly in various latitude corridors of the world. Results: A chronology of 22 haplotypes defined three phases driven by protein flexibility-rigidity, environmental sensing, and immune escape. A network of haplotypes illustrated the recruitment and coalescence of mutations into major VOC constellations and seasonal effects of decoupling and loss. Protein interaction networks mediated by haplotypes predicted communications impacting the structure and function of proteins, showing the increasingly central role of molecular interactions involving the spike (S), nucleocapsid (N), and membrane (M) proteins. Haplotype markers either affected fusogenic regions while spreading along the sequence of the S-protein or clustered around binding domains. Modeling of protein structure with AlphaFold2 showed that VOC Omicron and one of its haplotypes were major contributors to the distortion of the M-protein endodomain, which behaves as a receptor of other structural proteins during virion assembly. Remarkably, VOC constellations acted cooperatively to balance the more extreme effects of individual haplotypes. Conclusions: Our study uncovers seasonal patterns of emergence and diversification occurring amid a highly dynamic evolutionary landscape of bursts and waves. The mapping of genetically-linked mutations to structures that sense environmental change with powerful ab initio modeling tools demonstrates the potential of deep-learning for COVID-19 predictive intelligence and therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tre Tomaszewski
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - Muhammad Asif Ali
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | | | - Gustavo Caetano-Anollés
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
- C. R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
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8
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Focus on Marine Animal Safety and Marine Bioresources in Response to the SARS-CoV-2 Crisis. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315136. [PMID: 36499463 PMCID: PMC9737530 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315136] [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: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 as a zoonotic virus has significantly affected daily life and social behavior since its outbreak in late 2019. The concerns over its transmission through different media directly or indirectly have evoked great attention about the survival of SARS-CoV-2 virions in the environment and its potential infection of other animals. To evaluate the risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and to counteract the COVID-19 disease, extensive studies have been performed to understand SARS-CoV-2 biogenesis and its pathogenesis. This review mainly focuses on the molecular architecture of SARS-CoV-2, its potential for infecting marine animals, and the prospect of drug discovery using marine natural products to combat SARS-CoV-2. The main purposes of this review are to piece together progress in SARS-CoV-2 functional genomic studies and antiviral drug development, and to raise our awareness of marine animal safety on exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
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9
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Manan A, Pirzada RH, Haseeb M, Choi S. Toll-like Receptor Mediation in SARS-CoV-2: A Therapeutic Approach. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231810716. [PMID: 36142620 PMCID: PMC9502216 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The innate immune system facilitates defense mechanisms against pathogen invasion and cell damage. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) assist in the activation of the innate immune system by binding to pathogenic ligands. This leads to the generation of intracellular signaling cascades including the biosynthesis of molecular mediators. TLRs on cell membranes are adept at recognizing viral components. Viruses can modulate the innate immune response with the help of proteins and RNAs that downregulate or upregulate the expression of various TLRs. In the case of COVID-19, molecular modulators such as type 1 interferons interfere with signaling pathways in the host cells, leading to an inflammatory response. Coronaviruses are responsible for an enhanced immune signature of inflammatory chemokines and cytokines. TLRs have been employed as therapeutic agents in viral infections as numerous antiviral Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs are TLR agonists. This review highlights the therapeutic approaches associated with SARS-CoV-2 and the TLRs involved in COVID-19 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul Manan
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
| | | | - Muhammad Haseeb
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
- S&K Therapeutics, Ajou University Campus Plaza 418, 199 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon 16502, Korea
| | - Sangdun Choi
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
- S&K Therapeutics, Ajou University Campus Plaza 418, 199 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon 16502, Korea
- Correspondence:
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Hossain A, Akter S, Rashid AA, Khair S, Alam ASMRU. Unique mutations in SARS-CoV-2 omicron subvariants' non-spike proteins: Potential impact on viral pathogenesis and host immune evasion. Microb Pathog 2022; 170:105699. [PMID: 35944840 PMCID: PMC9356572 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anamica Hossain
- Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Shammi Akter
- Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Alfi Anjum Rashid
- Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Sabik Khair
- Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - A S M Rubayet Ul Alam
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh.
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11
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Tomaszewski T, Gurtler V, Caetano-Anollés K, Caetano-Anollés G. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in Australia by haplotype coalescence reveals a continental link to COVID-19 seasonality. METHODS IN MICROBIOLOGY 2022; 50:233-268. [PMID: 38013929 PMCID: PMC9110064 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mim.2022.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, even after implementation of public-wide vaccination, as can be observed by an increasing number of mutations over time. Compared to responses by the United States and European countries, the disease mitigation strategies employed by the Australian government have been swift and effective. This provides a unique opportunity to study the emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) at many latitude levels in a country that has been able to control infection for the majority of the pandemic. In the present study, we explored the occurrence and accumulation of major mutations typical of VOCs in different regions of Australia and the effects that latitude has on the establishment of VOC-induced disease. We also studied the constellation of mutations characteristic of VOCs to determine if the mutation sets acted as haplotypes. Our goal was to explore processes behind the emergence of VOCs as the viral disease progresses towards becoming endemic. Most reported COVID-19 cases were in largest cities located within a -30°S to - 50°S latitude corridor previously identified to be associated with seasonal behavior. Accumulation plots of individual amino acid variants of major VOCs showed that the first major haplotypes reported worldwide were also present in Australia. A classification of accumulation plots revealed the existence of 18 additional haplotypes associated with VOCs alpha, delta and omicron. Core mutant constellations for these VOCs and curve overlaps for variants in each set of haplotypes demonstrated significant decoupling patterns, suggesting processes of emergence. Finally, construction of a "haplotype network" that describes the viral population landscape of Australia throughout the COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant and unanticipated seasonal patterns of emergence and diversification. These results provide a unique window into our evolutionary understanding of a human pathogen of great significance. They may guide future research into mitigation and prediction strategies for future VOCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tre Tomaszewski
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | | | | | - Gustavo Caetano-Anollés
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
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12
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Marques-Pereira C, Pires MN, Gouveia RP, Pereira NN, Caniceiro AB, Rosário-Ferreira N, Moreira IS. SARS-CoV-2 Membrane Protein: From Genomic Data to Structural New Insights. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:2986. [PMID: 35328409 PMCID: PMC8948900 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23062986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is composed of four structural proteins and several accessory non-structural proteins. SARS-CoV-2's most abundant structural protein, Membrane (M) protein, has a pivotal role both during viral infection cycle and host interferon antagonism. This is a highly conserved viral protein, thus an interesting and suitable target for drug discovery. In this paper, we explain the structural nature of M protein homodimer. To do so, we developed and applied a detailed and robust in silico workflow to predict M protein dimeric structure, membrane orientation, and interface characterization. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in M protein were retrieved from over 1.2 M SARS-CoV-2 genomes and proteins from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database, 91 of which were located at the predicted dimer interface. Among those, we identified SNPs in Variants of Concern (VOC) and Variants of Interest (VOI). Binding free energy differences were evaluated for dimer interfacial SNPs to infer mutant protein stabilities. A few high-prevalent mutated residues were found to be especially relevant in VOC and VOI. This realization may be a game-changer to structure-driven formulation of new therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Marques-Pereira
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
- IIIs—Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, 3030-789 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Manuel N. Pires
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
- Department of Sciences, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Raquel P. Gouveia
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
| | - Nádia N. Pereira
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
| | - Ana B. Caniceiro
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
| | - Nícia Rosário-Ferreira
- CNC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal; (C.M.-P.); (M.N.P.); (R.P.G.); (N.N.P.); (A.B.C.); (N.R.-F.)
- CQC—Coimbra Chemistry Center, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Irina S. Moreira
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal
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In silico analysis of Phyllanthus amarus phytochemicals as potent drugs against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. CURRENT RESEARCH IN GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY 2021; 4. [PMCID: PMC8364217 DOI: 10.1016/j.crgsc.2021.100159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Phyllanthus amarus, also known as Bhui Korma in India, is well known for its medicinal properties and is used to treat several diseases worldwide. This study aims to identify phytochemicals from P. amarus and assess their anti-viral activity through in silico methods against the main protease (3CLPro/MPro) enzyme of the novel coronavirus. 190 compounds were obtained from literature and docked against 3CLPro and 16 compounds showed higher binding affinity with 3CLPro with their values lying between -8.9 kcal/mol to -9.6 kcal/mol. The top two compounds, Myricitrin (CID: 5352000) and Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (CID: 12004528) gave high binding affinity values of -9.6 kcal/mol and -9.4 kcal/mol respectively and also display favourable binding interactions with the 3CLPro. Both the compounds were further subjected to molecular dynamics simulation and MM-PBSA based binding free energy calculations. ADMET and drug-likeness properties were studied to assess the pharmacokinetic properties of the compounds. Favourable pharmacokinetic results reinforced the applicability of the compounds assessed. Along with continuous studies being carried out with chemical compounds, research needs to expand into all areas, including the use of natural compounds as drug compounds. The identified hits from this study can be taken further for in vitro and in vivo studies to examine their efficacy against COVID-19.
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