scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

How Does the Novel Coronavirus Interact with the Human ACE2 Enzyme? A Thermodynamic Answer

TL;DR: This work presents a chemical reason for the difficulty in treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus using drugs targeting its Spike Protein, as well as helps to explain its infectivity, while defining a minimum free energy of binding for new drugs to be designed against this disease.
Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic is certainly the most important public health concern today Until now there are no vaccines or treatments available, despite intensive international efforts One of the targets for new drugs is the Coronavirus Spike Protein, responsible for its binding and entry into the host cells The Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) found at the Spike Protein recognizes the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) The present in silico study discuss structural and thermodynamic aspects of the protein complexes involving the RBD’s from the 2002 SARS-CoV and 2019 SARS-CoV-2 with the hACE2 Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations of the complexes and isolated proteins were performed, providing insights on their detailed pattern of interactions, and estimating the free energy of binding The obtained results support previous studies indicating that the chemical affinity of the new SARS-CoV-2 for the hACE2 enzyme virus is much higher than the 2002 SARS-CoV The herein calculated Gibbs free energy of binding to the hACE2 enzyme is, depending on the technique, from 5 11 kcal/mol to 8 39 kcal/mol more negative in the case of the new coronavirus’ RBD In addition, within each employed technique, this free energy is consistently 61±2% stronger for SARS-CoV-2 than for SARS-CoV This work presents a chemical reason for the difficulty in treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus using drugs targeting its Spike Protein, as well as helps to explain its infectivity, while defining a minimum free energy of binding for new drugs to be designed against this disease br
Citations
More filters
Posted ContentDOI
09 Jul 2020-bioRxiv
TL;DR: Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, it is found that the glycosylation of the human ACE2 receptor contributes substantially to the binding of the virus and the targeted development of neutralizing antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 fusion inhibitors.
Abstract: Binding of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to the human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor triggers translocation of the virus into cells. Both the ACE2 receptor and the spike protein are heavily glycosylated, including at sites near their binding interface. We built fully glycosylated models of the ACE2 receptor bound to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we found that the glycosylation of the human ACE2 receptor contributes substantially to the binding of the virus. Interestingly, the glycans at two glycosylation sites, N90 and N322, have opposite effects on spike protein binding. The glycan at the N90 site partly covers the binding interface of the spike RBD. Therefore, this glycan can interfere with the binding of the spike protein and protect against docking of the virus to the cell. By contrast, the glycan at the N322 site interacts tightly with the RBD of the ACE2-bound spike protein and strengthens the complex. Remarkably, the N322 glycan binds into a conserved region of the spike protein identified previously as a cryptic epitope for a neutralizing antibody. By mapping the glycan binding sites, our MD simulations aid in the targeted development of neutralizing antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 fusion inhibitors.

81 citations


Cites background from "How Does the Novel Coronavirus Inte..."

  • ...However, so far most of the studies focus on the effect of interactions at the binding interface of ACE2 and the spike protein (15, 16) and the effect of glycosylation on the binding process has been largely overlooked....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review focuses on how in silico studies have contributed to the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism and the proposal of novel and original agents to inhibit the viral key functioning, and demonstrates that molecular modeling and simulation represent an effective approach to gather information on key biological processes and thus guide rational molecular design strategies.
Abstract: The emergence in late 2019 of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the breakthrough of the COVID-19 pandemic that is presently affecting a growing number of countries. The development of the pandemic has also prompted an unprecedented effort of the scientific community to understand the molecular bases of the virus infection and to propose rational drug design strategies able to alleviate the serious COVID-19 morbidity. In this context, a strong synergy between the structural biophysics and molecular modeling and simulation communities has emerged, resolving at the atomistic level the crucial protein apparatus of the virus and revealing the dynamic aspects of key viral processes. In this Review, we focus on how in silico studies have contributed to the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism and the proposal of novel and original agents to inhibit the viral key functioning. This Review deals with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, including the mode of action that this structural protein uses to entry human cells, as well as with nonstructural viral proteins, focusing the attention on the most studied proteases and also proposing alternative mechanisms involving some of its domains, such as the SARS unique domain. We demonstrate that molecular modeling and simulation represent an effective approach to gather information on key biological processes and thus guide rational molecular design strategies.

64 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although this molecule is not capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), (-)-epicatechin gallate can be evaluated as a candidate molecule in drug development studies against 2019-nCoV since it was not the substrate of P-gp, did not inhibit any of the cytochrome Ps, and did not show AMES toxicity or hepatotoxicity on eukaryotic cells.
Abstract: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than thirty five million people worldwide and caused nearly 1 million deaths as of October 2020. The microorganism causing COVID-19 was named as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV). The aim of this study was to investigate the interactions of twenty-three phytochemicals belonging to different flavonoid subgroups with the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike glycoprotein of 2019-nCoV, and cellular proteases [transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), cathepsin B and L (CatB/L)]. The compounds interacted more strongly with CatB and CatL than with the other proteins. Van der Waals and hydrogen bonds played an important role in the receptor-ligand interactions. As a result of RBCI (relative binding capacity index) analysis conducted to rank flavonoids in terms of their interactions with the target proteins, (-)-epicatechin gallate interacted strongly with all the proteins studied. The results obtained from molecular dynamics and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA) methods also supported this data. According to Lipinski's rule of five, (-)-epicatechin gallate showed drug-likeness properties. Although this molecule is not capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it was concluded that (-)-epicatechin gallate can be evaluated as a candidate molecule in drug development studies against 2019-nCoV since it was not the substrate of P-gp (P-glycoprotein), did not inhibit any of the cytochrome Ps, and did not show AMES toxicity or hepatotoxicity on eukaryotic cells.

18 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , an attempt was made to predict the development of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, based on biothermodynamic parameters: Gibbs energy energy of binding and Gibbs energy of growth.

13 citations

Posted ContentDOI
08 Jun 2021-bioRxiv
TL;DR: In this paper, a standard profile of selected genes named ReprogVirus was proposed for in vitro-scanning of early virus-induced reprogramming in critical primary infected cells/tissues as target trait.
Abstract: In a perspective entitled From plant survival under severe stress to anti-viral human defense we raised and justified the hypothesis that transcript level profiles of justified target genes established from in vitro somatic embryogenesis (SE) induction in plants as a reference compared to virus-induced profiles can identify differential virus signatures that link to harmful reprogramming. A standard profile of selected genes named ReprogVirus was proposed for in vitro-scanning of early virus-induced reprogramming in critical primary infected cells/tissues as target trait. For data collection, the ReprogVirus platform was initiated. This initiative aims to identify in a common effort across scientific boundaries critical virus footprints from diverse virus origins and variants as a basis for anti-viral strategy design. This approach is open for validation and extension. In the present study, we initiated validation by experimental transcriptome data available in public domain combined with advancing plant wet lab research. We compared plant-adapted transcriptomes according to RegroVirus complemented by alternative oxidase (AOX) genes during de novo programming under SE-inducing conditions with in vitro corona virus-induced transcriptome profiles. This approach enabled identifying a major complex trait for early de novo programming during SARS-CoV-2 infection, called CoV-MAC-TED. It consists of unbalanced ROS/RNS levels, which are connected to increased aerobic fermentation that links to alpha-tubulin-based cell restructuration and progression of cell cycle. We conclude that anti-viral/anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategies need to rigorously target CoV-MAC-TED in primary infected nose and mouth cells through prophylactic and very early therapeutic strategies. We also discuss potential strategies in the view of the beneficial role of AOX for resilient behavior in plants. Furthermore, following the general observation that ROS/RNS equilibration/redox homeostasis is of utmost importance at the very beginning of viral infection, we highlight that de-stressing disease and social handling should be seen as essential part of anti-viral/anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategies.

4 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the Bernal Fowler (BF), SPC, ST2, TIPS2, TIP3P, and TIP4P potential functions for liquid water in the NPT ensemble at 25°C and 1 atm.
Abstract: Classical Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for liquid water in the NPT ensemble at 25 °C and 1 atm using six of the simpler intermolecular potential functions for the water dimer: Bernal–Fowler (BF), SPC, ST2, TIPS2, TIP3P, and TIP4P. Comparisons are made with experimental thermodynamic and structural data including the recent neutron diffraction results of Thiessen and Narten. The computed densities and potential energies are in reasonable accord with experiment except for the original BF model, which yields an 18% overestimate of the density and poor structural results. The TIPS2 and TIP4P potentials yield oxygen–oxygen partial structure functions in good agreement with the neutron diffraction results. The accord with the experimental OH and HH partial structure functions is poorer; however, the computed results for these functions are similar for all the potential functions. Consequently, the discrepancy may be due to the correction terms needed in processing the neutron data or to an effect uniformly neglected in the computations. Comparisons are also made for self‐diffusion coefficients obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. Overall, the SPC, ST2, TIPS2, and TIP4P models give reasonable structural and thermodynamic descriptions of liquid water and they should be useful in simulations of aqueous solutions. The simplicity of the SPC, TIPS2, and TIP4P functions is also attractive from a computational standpoint.

33,683 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a new Lagrangian formulation is introduced to make molecular dynamics (MD) calculations on systems under the most general externally applied, conditions of stress, which is well suited to the study of structural transformations in solids under external stress and at finite temperature.
Abstract: A new Lagrangian formulation is introduced. It can be used to make molecular dynamics (MD) calculations on systems under the most general, externally applied, conditions of stress. In this formulation the MD cell shape and size can change according to dynamical equations given by this Lagrangian. This new MD technique is well suited to the study of structural transformations in solids under external stress and at finite temperature. As an example of the use of this technique we show how a single crystal of Ni behaves under uniform uniaxial compressive and tensile loads. This work confirms some of the results of static (i.e., zero temperature) calculations reported in the literature. We also show that some results regarding the stress‐strain relation obtained by static calculations are invalid at finite temperature. We find that, under compressive loading, our model of Ni shows a bifurcation in its stress‐strain relation; this bifurcation provides a link in configuration space between cubic and hexagonal close packing. It is suggested that such a transformation could perhaps be observed experimentally under extreme conditions of shock.

13,937 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: GROMACS is one of the most widely used open-source and free software codes in chemistry, used primarily for dynamical simulations of biomolecules, and provides a rich set of calculation types.

12,985 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
13 Mar 2020-Science
TL;DR: The authors show that this protein binds at least 10 times more tightly than the corresponding spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)–CoV to their common host cell receptor, and test several published SARS-CoV RBD-specific monoclonal antibodies found that they do not have appreciable binding to 2019-nCoV S, suggesting that antibody cross-reactivity may be limited between the two RBDs.
Abstract: The outbreak of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) represents a pandemic threat that has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. The CoV spike (S) glycoprotein is a key target for vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and diagnostics. To facilitate medical countermeasure development, we determined a 3.5-angstrom-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of the 2019-nCoV S trimer in the prefusion conformation. The predominant state of the trimer has one of the three receptor-binding domains (RBDs) rotated up in a receptor-accessible conformation. We also provide biophysical and structural evidence that the 2019-nCoV S protein binds angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with higher affinity than does severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV S. Additionally, we tested several published SARS-CoV RBD-specific monoclonal antibodies and found that they do not have appreciable binding to 2019-nCoV S, suggesting that antibody cross-reactivity may be limited between the two RBDs. The structure of 2019-nCoV S should enable the rapid development and evaluation of medical countermeasures to address the ongoing public health crisis.

7,324 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
16 Apr 2020-Cell
TL;DR: It is demonstrating that cross-neutralizing antibodies targeting conserved S epitopes can be elicited upon vaccination, and it is shown that SARS-CoV-2 S uses ACE2 to enter cells and that the receptor-binding domains of Sars- coV- 2 S and SARS S bind with similar affinities to human ACE2, correlating with the efficient spread of SATS among humans.

7,219 citations

Related Papers (5)