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Manček-Keber M, Hafner-Bratkovič I, Lainšček D, Benčina M, Govednik T, Orehek S, Plaper T, Jazbec V, Bergant V, Grass V, Pichlmair A, Jerala R. Disruption of disulfides within RBD of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein prevents fusion and represents a target for viral entry inhibition by registered drugs. FASEB J 2021; 35:e21651. [PMID: 34004056 PMCID: PMC8206760 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202100560r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic imposed a large burden on health and society. Therapeutics targeting different components and processes of the viral infection replication cycle are being investigated, particularly to repurpose already approved drugs. Spike protein is an important target for both vaccines and therapeutics. Insights into the mechanisms of spike‐ACE2 binding and cell fusion could support the identification of compounds with inhibitory effects. Here, we demonstrate that the integrity of disulfide bonds within the receptor‐binding domain (RBD) plays an important role in the membrane fusion process although their disruption does not prevent binding of spike protein to ACE2. Several reducing agents and thiol‐reactive compounds are able to inhibit viral entry. N‐acetyl cysteine amide, L‐ascorbic acid, JTT‐705, and auranofin prevented syncytia formation, viral entry into cells, and infection in a mouse model, supporting disulfides of the RBD as a therapeutically relevant target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateja Manček-Keber
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Iva Hafner-Bratkovič
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Duško Lainšček
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mojca Benčina
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tea Govednik
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Sara Orehek
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tjaša Plaper
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Vid Jazbec
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Valter Bergant
- Immunopathology of Virus Infections Laboratory, Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Vincent Grass
- Immunopathology of Virus Infections Laboratory, Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Pichlmair
- Immunopathology of Virus Infections Laboratory, Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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