1
|
Flynn JM, Zvornicanin SN, Tsepal T, Shaqra AM, Kurt Yilmaz N, Jia W, Moquin S, Dovala D, Schiffer CA, Bolon DN. Contributions of Hyperactive Mutations in M pro from SARS-CoV-2 to Drug Resistance. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:1174-1184. [PMID: 38472113 PMCID: PMC11179160 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00560] [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: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The appearance and spread of mutations that cause drug resistance in rapidly evolving diseases, including infections by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, are major concerns for human health. Many drugs target enzymes, and resistance-conferring mutations impact inhibitor binding or enzyme activity. Nirmatrelvir, the most widely used inhibitor currently used to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections, targets the main protease (Mpro) preventing it from processing the viral polyprotein into active subunits. Our previous work systematically analyzed resistance mutations in Mpro that reduce binding to inhibitors; here, we investigate mutations that affect enzyme function. Hyperactive mutations that increase Mpro activity can contribute to drug resistance but have not been thoroughly studied. To explore how hyperactive mutations contribute to resistance, we comprehensively assessed how all possible individual mutations in Mpro affect enzyme function using a mutational scanning approach with a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based yeast readout. We identified hundreds of mutations that significantly increased the Mpro activity. Hyperactive mutations occurred both proximal and distal to the active site, consistent with protein stability and/or dynamics impacting activity. Hyperactive mutations were observed 3 times more than mutations which reduced apparent binding to nirmatrelvir in recent studies of laboratory-grown viruses selected for drug resistance. Hyperactive mutations were also about three times more prevalent than nirmatrelvir binding mutations in sequenced isolates from circulating SARS-CoV-2. Our findings indicate that hyperactive mutations are likely to contribute to the natural evolution of drug resistance in Mpro and provide a comprehensive list for future surveillance efforts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia M. Flynn
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Sarah N. Zvornicanin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Tenzin Tsepal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Ala M. Shaqra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Nese Kurt Yilmaz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Weiping Jia
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
| | | | - Dustin Dovala
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
| | - Celia A. Schiffer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| | - Daniel N.A. Bolon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605 USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Flynn JM, Huang QYJ, Zvornicanin SN, Schneider-Nachum G, Shaqra AM, Yilmaz NK, Moquin SA, Dovala D, Schiffer CA, Bolon DN. Systematic Analyses of the Resistance Potential of Drugs Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. ACS Infect Dis 2023; 9:1372-1386. [PMID: 37390404 PMCID: PMC11161032 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00125] [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: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
Drugs that target the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 are effective therapeutics that have entered clinical use. Wide-scale use of these drugs will apply selection pressure for the evolution of resistance mutations. To understand resistance potential in Mpro, we performed comprehensive surveys of amino acid changes that can cause resistance to nirmatrelvir (Pfizer), and ensitrelvir (Xocova) in a yeast screen. We identified 142 resistance mutations for nirmatrelvir and 177 for ensitrelvir, many of which have not been previously reported. Ninety-nine mutations caused apparent resistance to both inhibitors, suggesting likelihood for the evolution of cross-resistance. The mutation with the strongest drug resistance score against nirmatrelvir in our study (E166V) was the most impactful resistance mutation recently reported in multiple viral passaging studies. Many mutations that exhibited inhibitor-specific resistance were consistent with the distinct interactions of each inhibitor in the substrate binding site. In addition, mutants with strong drug resistance scores tended to have reduced function. Our results indicate that strong pressure from nirmatrelvir or ensitrelvir will select for multiple distinct-resistant lineages that will include both primary resistance mutations that weaken interactions with drug while decreasing enzyme function and compensatory mutations that increase enzyme activity. The comprehensive identification of resistance mutations enables the design of inhibitors with reduced potential of developing resistance and aids in the surveillance of drug resistance in circulating viral populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia M. Flynn
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Qiu Yu J. Huang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Sarah N. Zvornicanin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Gila Schneider-Nachum
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Ala M. Shaqra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Nese Kurt Yilmaz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | | | - Dustin Dovala
- Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA
| | - Celia A. Schiffer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Daniel N.A. Bolon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Samant N, Nachum G, Tsepal T, Bolon DNA. Sequence dependencies and biophysical features both govern cleavage of diverse cut-sites by HIV protease. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4366. [PMID: 35762719 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The infectivity of HIV-1 requires its protease (PR) cleave multiple cut-sites with low sequence similarity. The diversity of cleavage sites has made it challenging to investigate the underlying sequence properties that determine binding and turnover of substrates by PR. We engineered a mutational scanning approach utilizing yeast display, flow cytometry, and deep sequencing to systematically measure the impacts of all individual amino acid changes at 12 positions in three different cut-sites (MA/CA, NC/p1, and p1/p6). The resulting fitness landscapes revealed common physical features that underlie cutting of all three cut-sites at the amino acid positions closest to the scissile bond. In contrast, positions more than two amino acids away from the scissile bond exhibited a strong dependence on the sequence background of the rest of the cut-site. We observed multiple amino acid changes in cut-sites that led to faster cleavage rates, including a preference for negative charge five and six amino acids away from the scissile bond at locations where the surface of protease is positively charged. Analysis of individual cut sites using full-length matrix-capsid proteins indicate that long-distance sequence context can contribute to cutting efficiency such that analyses of peptides or shorter engineered constructs including those in this work should be considered carefully. This work provides a framework for understanding how diverse substrates interact with HIV-1 PR and can be extended to investigate other viral PRs with similar properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neha Samant
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gily Nachum
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tenzin Tsepal
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Daniel N A Bolon
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| |
Collapse
|