Department of Biological Sciences, Salem University, Lokoja, Nigeria.
Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2022 Mar;40(5):2121-2145. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1835726. Epub 2020 Oct 22.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped positive sense RNA virus. The SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and human transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) are essential for the host cell-mediated viral entry. Targeting these proteins represent viable options to stop the first stage of infection and transmission. Hence, 97 alkaloids from African medicinal plants with reported antiviral activity were evaluated for this purpose via studies. These alkaloids were docked for their interactions with SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, ACE2, and TMPRSS2. Top 20 alkaloids with highest binding affinities were further screened for their interactions with spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and with ACE2-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain complex (ACE2-RBD). The energy profiling, molecular dynamics simulation (MDS), binding free energy base on Molecular Mechanics/Generalized Born Surface Area (MMGBSA), clustering of MDS trajectories, and virtual physicochemical and pharmacokinetic screening of the best docked alkaloids were performed. Results revealed that more than 15 alkaloids interacted better than the reference compounds. 10-Hydroxyusambarensine and Cryptospirolepine were docked in a similar binding pattern to the S1-specificy pocket of TMPRSS2 as camostat (reference inhibitor). The strong binding affinities, stability of the alkaloid-protein complexes and amino acid interactions displayed by cryptospirolepine, 10-hydroxyusambarensine, and cryptoquindoline with important binding hotspots of the proteins suggest these alkaloids have the potential of altering the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 membrane mediated host cell entry. Further and evaluation of these "drug-like" alkaloids as potential inhibitors of coronavirus cell entry is proposed.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
新型冠状病毒肺炎是由 SARS-CoV-2 引起的一种呼吸道疾病,SARS-CoV-2 是一种有包膜的正链 RNA 病毒。SARS-CoV-2 的刺突糖蛋白、血管紧张素转换酶 2(ACE2)和人跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶 2(TMPRSS2)是宿主细胞介导病毒进入所必需的。针对这些蛋白是阻止感染和传播的第一阶段的可行选择。因此,通过研究评估了来自非洲药用植物的 97 种具有抗病毒活性的生物碱,以达到这一目的。这些生物碱与 SARS-CoV-2 刺突糖蛋白、ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 的相互作用进行对接。进一步筛选与 SARS-CoV 刺突糖蛋白和 MERS-CoV 以及 ACE2-SARS-CoV-2 受体结合域复合物(ACE2-RBD)相互作用的最高结合亲和力的前 20 种生物碱。对最佳对接生物碱进行能量分析、分子动力学模拟(MDS)、基于分子力学/广义 Born 表面面积(MMGBSA)的结合自由能、MDS 轨迹聚类和虚拟物理化学和药代动力学筛选。结果表明,超过 15 种生物碱的相互作用优于对照化合物。10-羟基乌沙宾因和隐色螺环碱与卡莫司他(对照抑制剂)一样,对接在 TMPRSS2 的 S1 特异性口袋中。隐色螺环碱、10-羟基乌沙宾因和隐色喹啉与蛋白重要结合热点的强结合亲和力、生物碱-蛋白复合物的稳定性和氨基酸相互作用表明,这些生物碱有可能改变 SARS-CoV-2 膜介导的宿主细胞进入的能力。建议进一步评估这些“类药”生物碱作为冠状病毒细胞进入的潜在抑制剂。由 Ramaswamy H. Sarma 传达。