tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem
. 2022 Dec;37(1):1077-1082.
doi: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2062336.
Bat coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2: what about their 3CL proteases (MPro)?
Matteo Pavan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Davide Bassani[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mattia Sturlese[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Stefano Moro[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Despite a huge effort by the scientific community to determine the animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, which led to the identification of several SARS-CoV-2-related viruses both in bats and in pangolins, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still not clear. Recently, Temmam et al. reported the discovery of bat coronaviruses with a high degree of genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning the RBDs of the S protein, which mediates the capability of such viruses to enter and therefore infect human cells through a hACE2-dependent pathway. These viruses, especially the one named BANAL-236, showed a higher affinity for the hACE2 compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. In the present work, we analyse the similarities and differences between the 3CL protease (main protease, M[SUP]pro[/SUP]) of these newly reported viruses and SARS-CoV-2, discussing their relevance relative to the efficacy of existing therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, particularly concerning the recently approved orally available Paxlovid, and the development of future ones.
Keywords: BANAL; Laos; MPro; Paxlovid; SARS-CoV-2; bat coronavirus; sarbecovirus.
. 2022 Dec;37(1):1077-1082.
doi: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2062336.
Bat coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2: what about their 3CL proteases (MPro)?
Matteo Pavan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Davide Bassani[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mattia Sturlese[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Stefano Moro[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35418253
- DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2022.2062336
Abstract
Despite a huge effort by the scientific community to determine the animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, which led to the identification of several SARS-CoV-2-related viruses both in bats and in pangolins, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still not clear. Recently, Temmam et al. reported the discovery of bat coronaviruses with a high degree of genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning the RBDs of the S protein, which mediates the capability of such viruses to enter and therefore infect human cells through a hACE2-dependent pathway. These viruses, especially the one named BANAL-236, showed a higher affinity for the hACE2 compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. In the present work, we analyse the similarities and differences between the 3CL protease (main protease, M[SUP]pro[/SUP]) of these newly reported viruses and SARS-CoV-2, discussing their relevance relative to the efficacy of existing therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, particularly concerning the recently approved orally available Paxlovid, and the development of future ones.
Keywords: BANAL; Laos; MPro; Paxlovid; SARS-CoV-2; bat coronavirus; sarbecovirus.