tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
ACS Omega
. 2022 Aug 25;7(35):30700-30709.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07240. eCollection 2022 Sep 6.
Molecular Dynamics Analysis of Fast-Spreading Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants and Their Effects on the Interaction with Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
Anacleto Silva de Souza[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vitor Martins de Freitas Amorim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela D A Guardia[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Felipe R C Dos Santos[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Filipe F Dos Santos[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Robson Francisco de Souza[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guilherme de Araujo Juvenal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yihua Huang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Pingju Ge[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Yinan Jiang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Coco Li[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Prajwal Paudel[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Henning Ulrich[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Pedro A F Galante[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cristiane Rodrigues Guzzo[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is evolving with mutations in the spike protein, especially in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The failure of public health measures in some countries to contain the spread of the disease has given rise to novel viral variants with increased transmissibility. However, key questions about how quickly the variants can spread remain unclear. Herein, we performed a structural investigation using molecular dynamics simulations and determined dissociation constant (K [SUB]D[/SUB]) values using surface plasmon resonance assays of three fast-spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants, alpha, beta, and gamma, as well as genetic factors in host cells that may be related to the viral infection. Our results suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 variants facilitate their entry into the host cell by moderately increased binding affinities to the human ACE2 receptor, different torsions in hACE2 mediated by RBD variants, and an increased spike exposure time to proteolytic enzymes. We also found that other host cell aspects, such as gene and isoform expression of key genes for the infection (ACE2, FURIN, and TMPRSS2), may have few contributions to the SARS-CoV-2 variant infectivity. In summary, we concluded that a combination of viral and host cell factors allows SARS-CoV-2 variants to increase their abilities to spread faster than the wild type.
. 2022 Aug 25;7(35):30700-30709.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07240. eCollection 2022 Sep 6.
Molecular Dynamics Analysis of Fast-Spreading Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants and Their Effects on the Interaction with Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
Anacleto Silva de Souza[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vitor Martins de Freitas Amorim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela D A Guardia[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Felipe R C Dos Santos[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Filipe F Dos Santos[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Robson Francisco de Souza[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guilherme de Araujo Juvenal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yihua Huang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Pingju Ge[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Yinan Jiang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Coco Li[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Prajwal Paudel[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Henning Ulrich[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Pedro A F Galante[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cristiane Rodrigues Guzzo[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36068861
- PMCID: PMC9437663
- DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07240
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is evolving with mutations in the spike protein, especially in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The failure of public health measures in some countries to contain the spread of the disease has given rise to novel viral variants with increased transmissibility. However, key questions about how quickly the variants can spread remain unclear. Herein, we performed a structural investigation using molecular dynamics simulations and determined dissociation constant (K [SUB]D[/SUB]) values using surface plasmon resonance assays of three fast-spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants, alpha, beta, and gamma, as well as genetic factors in host cells that may be related to the viral infection. Our results suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 variants facilitate their entry into the host cell by moderately increased binding affinities to the human ACE2 receptor, different torsions in hACE2 mediated by RBD variants, and an increased spike exposure time to proteolytic enzymes. We also found that other host cell aspects, such as gene and isoform expression of key genes for the infection (ACE2, FURIN, and TMPRSS2), may have few contributions to the SARS-CoV-2 variant infectivity. In summary, we concluded that a combination of viral and host cell factors allows SARS-CoV-2 variants to increase their abilities to spread faster than the wild type.