tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Chem Inf Model
. 2020 Jul 28.
doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00679. Online ahead of print.
Computational Prediction of Mutational Effects on the SARS-CoV-2 Binding by Relative Free Energy Calculations
Junjie Zou, Jian Yin, Lei Fang, Mingjun Yang, Tianyuan Wang, Weikun Wu, Michael Bellucci, Peiyu Zhang
Abstract
The ability of coronaviruses to infect humans is invariably associated with their binding strengths to human receptor proteins. Both SARS-CoV-2, initially named 2019-nCoV, and SARS-CoV were reported to utilize angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as an entry receptor in human cells. To better understand the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2, we performed computational alanine scanning mutagenesis on the "hotspot" residues at protein-protein interfaces using relative free energy calculations. Our data suggest that the mutations in SARS-CoV-2 lead to a greater binding affinity relative to SARS-CoV. In addition, our free energy calculations provide insight into the infectious ability of viruses on a physical basis, and also provide useful information for the design of antiviral drugs.
. 2020 Jul 28.
doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00679. Online ahead of print.
Computational Prediction of Mutational Effects on the SARS-CoV-2 Binding by Relative Free Energy Calculations
Junjie Zou, Jian Yin, Lei Fang, Mingjun Yang, Tianyuan Wang, Weikun Wu, Michael Bellucci, Peiyu Zhang
- PMID: 32786709
- DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00679
Abstract
The ability of coronaviruses to infect humans is invariably associated with their binding strengths to human receptor proteins. Both SARS-CoV-2, initially named 2019-nCoV, and SARS-CoV were reported to utilize angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as an entry receptor in human cells. To better understand the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2, we performed computational alanine scanning mutagenesis on the "hotspot" residues at protein-protein interfaces using relative free energy calculations. Our data suggest that the mutations in SARS-CoV-2 lead to a greater binding affinity relative to SARS-CoV. In addition, our free energy calculations provide insight into the infectious ability of viruses on a physical basis, and also provide useful information for the design of antiviral drugs.