Mahaboob Ali Anees Ahmed, Vishal Adarsh, Nelson Everette Jacob Remington
Gene Therapy Laboratory, Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, 632 014, India.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 19;14(1):4111. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-54624-6.
Respiratory viral infections, a major public health concern, necessitate continuous development of novel antiviral strategies, particularly in the face of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. In this study, we explored the potential of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against key respiratory viruses. By examining the structural mimicry of host cell receptors and their known biological functions, including antiviral activities, we assessed the ability of HMOs to bind and potentially inhibit viral proteins crucial for host cell entry. Our in silico analysis focused on viral proteins integral to host-virus interactions, namely the hemagglutinin protein of influenza, fusion proteins of respiratory syncytial and human metapneumovirus, and the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Using molecular docking and simulation studies, we demonstrated that HMOs exhibit varying binding affinities to these viral proteins, suggesting their potential as viral entry inhibitors. This study identified several HMOs with promising binding profiles, highlighting their potential in antiviral drug development. This research provides a foundation for utilizing HMOs as a natural source for designing new therapeutics, offering a novel approach in the fight against respiratory viral infections.
呼吸道病毒感染是一个重大的公共卫生问题，需要不断开发新的抗病毒策略，尤其是面对新出现和再次出现的病原体时。在本研究中，我们探索了人乳寡糖（HMOs）作为针对关键呼吸道病毒的广谱抗病毒剂的潜力。通过研究宿主细胞受体的结构模拟及其已知的生物学功能，包括抗病毒活性，我们评估了HMOs结合并潜在抑制对宿主细胞进入至关重要的病毒蛋白的能力。我们的计算机分析聚焦于宿主 - 病毒相互作用中不可或缺的病毒蛋白，即流感病毒的血凝素蛋白、呼吸道合胞病毒和人偏肺病毒的融合蛋白以及严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的刺突蛋白。通过分子对接和模拟研究，我们证明HMOs对这些病毒蛋白表现出不同的结合亲和力，表明它们作为病毒进入抑制剂的潜力。本研究鉴定了几种具有良好结合特征的HMOs，突出了它们在抗病毒药物开发中的潜力。这项研究为利用HMOs作为设计新疗法的天然来源奠定了基础，为对抗呼吸道病毒感染提供了一种新方法。
