1
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Unke OT, Stöhr M, Ganscha S, Unterthiner T, Maennel H, Kashubin S, Ahlin D, Gastegger M, Medrano Sandonas L, Berryman JT, Tkatchenko A, Müller KR. Biomolecular dynamics with machine-learned quantum-mechanical force fields trained on diverse chemical fragments. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn4397. [PMID: 38579003 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn4397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
The GEMS method enables molecular dynamics simulations of large heterogeneous systems at ab initio quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver T Unke
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
- Machine Learning Group, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- DFG Cluster of Excellence "Unifying Systems in Catalysis" (UniSysCat), Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Stöhr
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Stefan Ganscha
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Unterthiner
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Hartmut Maennel
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sergii Kashubin
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Ahlin
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Gastegger
- Machine Learning Group, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- DFG Cluster of Excellence "Unifying Systems in Catalysis" (UniSysCat), Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- BASLEARN - TU Berlin/BASF Joint Lab for Machine Learning, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Leonardo Medrano Sandonas
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Joshua T Berryman
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Alexandre Tkatchenko
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Klaus-Robert Müller
- Google DeepMind, Tucholskystraße 2, 10117 Berlin, Germany and Brandschenkestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland
- Machine Learning Group, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
- Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Stuhlsatzenhausweg, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- BIFOLD - Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Dandekar T, Kunz M. Bioinformatics Connects Life with the Universe and All the Rest. Bioinformatics 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-65036-3_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
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3
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Robinson CV, Porter TM, McGee KM, McCusker M, Wright MTG, Hajibabaei M. Multi-marker DNA metabarcoding detects suites of environmental gradients from an urban harbour. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10556. [PMID: 35732669 PMCID: PMC9217803 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13262-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing need for biodiversity monitoring, especially in places where potential anthropogenic disturbance may significantly impact ecosystem health. We employed a combination of traditional morphological and bulk macroinvertebrate metabarcoding analyses to benthic samples collected from Toronto Harbour (Ontario, Canada) to compare taxonomic and functional diversity of macroinvertebrates and their responses to environmental gradients. At the species rank, sites assessed using COI metabarcoding showed more variation than sites assessed using morphological methods. Depending on the assessment method, we detected gradients in magnesium (morphological taxa), ammonia (morphological taxa, COI sequence variants), pH (18S sequence variants) as well as gradients in contaminants such as metals (COI & 18S sequence variants) and organochlorines (COI sequence variants). Observed responses to contaminants such as aromatic hydrocarbons and metals align with known patchy distributions in harbour sediments. We determined that the morphological approach may limit the detection of macroinvertebrate responses to lake environmental conditions due to the effort needed to obtain fine level taxonomic assignments necessary to investigate responses. DNA metabarcoding, however, need not be limited to macroinvertebrates, can be automated, and taxonomic assignments are associated with a certain level of accuracy from sequence variants to named taxonomic groups. The capacity to detect change using a scalable approach such as metabarcoding is critical for addressing challenges associated with biodiversity monitoring and ecological investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe V Robinson
- Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
- Whales Initiative, Ocean Wise Conservation Association, Victoria, BC, V8V 4Z9, Canada
| | - Teresita M Porter
- Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Katie M McGee
- Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Megan McCusker
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, ON, L7S 1A1, Canada
| | - Michael T G Wright
- Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Mehrdad Hajibabaei
- Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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4
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Kuzmin A, Orekhov P, Astashkin R, Gordeliy V, Gushchin I. Structure and dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein monomer. Proteins 2022; 90:1102-1114. [PMID: 35119706 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Coronaviruses, especially severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), present an ongoing threat to human wellbeing. Consequently, elucidation of molecular determinants of their function and interaction with the host is an important task. Whereas some of the coronaviral proteins are extensively characterized, others remain understudied. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the structure and dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (E) protein (a viroporin) in the monomeric form. The protein consists of the hydrophobic α-helical transmembrane domain (TMD) and amphiphilic α-helices H2 and H3, connected by flexible linkers. We show that TMD has a preferable orientation in the membrane, while H2 and H3 reside at the membrane surface. Orientation of H2 is strongly influenced by palmitoylation of cysteines Cys40, Cys43, and Cys44. Glycosylation of Asn66 affects the orientation of H3. We also observe that the monomeric E protein both generates and senses the membrane curvature, preferably localizing with the C-terminus at the convex regions of the membrane; the protein in the pentameric form displays these properties as well. Localization to curved regions may be favorable for assembly of the E protein oligomers, whereas induction of curvature may facilitate the budding of the viral particles. The presented results may be helpful for a better understanding of the function of the coronaviral E protein and viroporins in general, and for overcoming the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Kuzmin
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia
| | - Philipp Orekhov
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia.,Faculty of Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Roman Astashkin
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia.,Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Valentin Gordeliy
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia.,Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Grenoble, France.,Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany.,JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
| | - Ivan Gushchin
- Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia
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5
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Lessons learned from urgent computing in Europe: Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2024891118. [PMID: 34772803 PMCID: PMC8726994 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024891118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), an international not-for-profit association that brings together the five largest European supercomputing centers and involves 26 European countries, has allocated more than half a billion core hours to computer simulations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside experiments, these simulations are a pillar of research to assess the risks of different scenarios and investigate mitigation strategies. While the world deals with the subsequent waves of the pandemic, we present a reflection on the use of urgent supercomputing for global societal challenges and crisis management.
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6
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Unke O, Chmiela S, Sauceda HE, Gastegger M, Poltavsky I, Schütt KT, Tkatchenko A, Müller KR. Machine Learning Force Fields. Chem Rev 2021; 121:10142-10186. [PMID: 33705118 PMCID: PMC8391964 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 113.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, the use of machine learning (ML) in computational chemistry has enabled numerous advances previously out of reach due to the computational complexity of traditional electronic-structure methods. One of the most promising applications is the construction of ML-based force fields (FFs), with the aim to narrow the gap between the accuracy of ab initio methods and the efficiency of classical FFs. The key idea is to learn the statistical relation between chemical structure and potential energy without relying on a preconceived notion of fixed chemical bonds or knowledge about the relevant interactions. Such universal ML approximations are in principle only limited by the quality and quantity of the reference data used to train them. This review gives an overview of applications of ML-FFs and the chemical insights that can be obtained from them. The core concepts underlying ML-FFs are described in detail, and a step-by-step guide for constructing and testing them from scratch is given. The text concludes with a discussion of the challenges that remain to be overcome by the next generation of ML-FFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver
T. Unke
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- DFG
Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Systems in Catalysis”
(UniSysCat), Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Chmiela
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Huziel E. Sauceda
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- BASLEARN,
BASF-TU Joint Lab, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Gastegger
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- DFG
Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Systems in Catalysis”
(UniSysCat), Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- BASLEARN,
BASF-TU Joint Lab, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Igor Poltavsky
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Kristof T. Schütt
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexandre Tkatchenko
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Klaus-Robert Müller
- Machine
Learning Group, Technische Universität
Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- BIFOLD−Berlin
Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data, Berlin, Germany
- Department
of Artificial Intelligence, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
- Max Planck
Institute for Informatics, Stuhlsatzenhausweg, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Google
Research, Brain Team, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Uyar A, Dickson A. Perturbation of ACE2 Structural Ensembles by SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Binding. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:5896-5906. [PMID: 34383488 PMCID: PMC8370119 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The human ACE2 enzyme serves as a critical first recognition point of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. In particular, the extracellular domain of ACE2 interacts directly with the S1 tailspike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virion through a broad protein-protein interface. Although this interaction has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, these structures do not reveal significant differences in the ACE2 structure upon S1 protein binding. In this work, using several all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we show persistent differences in the ACE2 structure upon binding. These differences are determined with the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) machine learning method and validated using independent training and testing datasets, including long trajectories generated by D. E. Shaw Research on the Anton 2 supercomputer. In addition, long trajectories for 78 potent ACE2-binding compounds, also generated by D. E. Shaw Research, were projected onto the LDA classification vector in order to determine whether the ligand-bound ACE2 structures were compatible with S1 protein binding. This allows us to predict which compounds are "apo-like" versus "complex-like" and to pinpoint long-range ligand-induced allosteric changes in the ACE2 structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arzu Uyar
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Alex Dickson
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States.,Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan 48824, United States
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8
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Sztain T, Amaro R, McCammon JA. Elucidation of Cryptic and Allosteric Pockets within the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:3495-3501. [PMID: 33939913 PMCID: PMC8117783 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has rapidly spread across the globe, posing an urgent health concern. Many quests to computationally identify treatments against the virus rely on in silico small molecule docking to experimentally determined structures of viral proteins. One limit to these approaches is that protein dynamics are often unaccounted for, leading to overlooking transient, druggable conformational states. Using Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics to enhance sampling of conformational space, we identified cryptic pockets within the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, including some within regions far from the active site. These simulations sampled comparable dynamics and pocket volumes to conventional brute force simulations carried out on two orders of magnitude greater timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rommie Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - J. Andrew McCammon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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9
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Evans DJ, Yovanno RA, Rahman S, Cao DW, Beckett MQ, Patel MH, Bandak AF, Lau AY. Finding Druggable Sites in Proteins Using TACTICS. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2897-2910. [PMID: 34096704 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Structure-based drug discovery efforts require knowledge of where drug-binding sites are located on target proteins. To address the challenge of finding druggable sites, we developed a machine-learning algorithm called TACTICS (trajectory-based analysis of conformations to identify cryptic sites), which uses an ensemble of molecular structures (such as molecular dynamics simulation data) as input. First, TACTICS uses k-means clustering to select a small number of conformations that represent the overall conformational heterogeneity of the data. Then, TACTICS uses a random forest model to identify potentially bindable residues in each selected conformation, based on protein motion and geometry. Lastly, residues in possible binding pockets are scored using fragment docking. As proof-of-principle, TACTICS was applied to the analysis of simulations of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and methyltransferase and the Yersinia pestis aryl carrier protein. Our approach recapitulates known small-molecule binding sites and predicts the locations of sites not previously observed in experimentally determined structures. The TACTICS code is available at https://github.com/Albert-Lau-Lab/tactics_protein_analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Evans
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Remy A Yovanno
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Sanim Rahman
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - David W Cao
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Morgan Q Beckett
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Milan H Patel
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Afif F Bandak
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Albert Y Lau
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
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10
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Croll TI, Diederichs K, Fischer F, Fyfe CD, Gao Y, Horrell S, Joseph AP, Kandler L, Kippes O, Kirsten F, Müller K, Nolte K, Payne AM, Reeves M, Richardson JS, Santoni G, Stäb S, Tronrud DE, von Soosten LC, Williams CJ, Thorn A. Making the invisible enemy visible. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2021; 28:404-408. [PMID: 33972785 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-021-00593-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Florens Fischer
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Yunyun Gao
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Luise Kandler
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Kippes
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ferdinand Kirsten
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Konstantin Müller
- Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kristopher Nolte
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Matthew Reeves
- Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Sabrina Stäb
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Lea C von Soosten
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Andrea Thorn
- Institut für Nanostruktur und Festkörperphysik, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. .,Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
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11
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Bennett AL, Henderson R. HIV-1 Envelope Conformation, Allostery, and Dynamics. Viruses 2021; 13:852. [PMID: 34067073 PMCID: PMC8150877 DOI: 10.3390/v13050852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) mediates host cell fusion and is the primary target for HIV-1 vaccine design. The Env undergoes a series of functionally important conformational rearrangements upon engagement of its host cell receptor, CD4. As the sole target for broadly neutralizing antibodies, our understanding of these transitions plays a critical role in vaccine immunogen design. Here, we review available experimental data interrogating the HIV-1 Env conformation and detail computational efforts aimed at delineating the series of conformational changes connecting these rearrangements. These studies have provided a structural mapping of prefusion closed, open, and transition intermediate structures, the allosteric elements controlling rearrangements, and state-to-state transition dynamics. The combination of these investigations and innovations in molecular modeling set the stage for advanced studies examining rearrangements at greater spatial and temporal resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rory Henderson
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA;
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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12
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Schlick T, Portillo-Ledesma S. Biomolecular modeling thrives in the age of technology. NATURE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE 2021; 1:321-331. [PMID: 34423314 PMCID: PMC8378674 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-021-00060-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The biomolecular modeling field has flourished since its early days in the 1970s due to the rapid adaptation and tailoring of state-of-the-art technology. The resulting dramatic increase in size and timespan of biomolecular simulations has outpaced Moore's law. Here, we discuss the role of knowledge-based versus physics-based methods and hardware versus software advances in propelling the field forward. This rapid adaptation and outreach suggests a bright future for modeling, where theory, experimentation and simulation define three pillars needed to address future scientific and biomedical challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamar Schlick
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York University–East China Normal University Center for Computational Chemistry at New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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13
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Starr TN, Czudnochowski N, Zatta F, Park YJ, Liu Z, Addetia A, Pinto D, Beltramello M, Hernandez P, Greaney AJ, Marzi R, Glass WG, Zhang I, Dingens AS, Bowen JE, Wojcechowskyj JA, De Marco A, Rosen LE, Zhou J, Montiel-Ruiz M, Kaiser H, Tucker H, Housley MP, di Iulio J, Lombardo G, Agostini M, Sprugasci N, Culap K, Jaconi S, Meury M, Dellota E, Cameroni E, Croll TI, Nix JC, Havenar-Daughton C, Telenti A, Lempp FA, Pizzuto MS, Chodera JD, Hebner CM, Whelan SP, Virgin HW, Veesler D, Corti D, Bloom JD, Snell G. Antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain that maximize breadth and resistance to viral escape. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.04.06.438709. [PMID: 33851154 PMCID: PMC8043444 DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.06.438709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
An ideal anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody would resist viral escape 1-3 , have activity against diverse SARS-related coronaviruses 4-7 , and be highly protective through viral neutralization 8-11 and effector functions 12,13 . Understanding how these properties relate to each other and vary across epitopes would aid development of antibody therapeutics and guide vaccine design. Here, we comprehensively characterize escape, breadth, and potency across a panel of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD), including S309 4 , the parental antibody of the late-stage clinical antibody VIR-7831. We observe a tradeoff between SARS-CoV-2 in vitro neutralization potency and breadth of binding across SARS-related coronaviruses. Nevertheless, we identify several neutralizing antibodies with exceptional breadth and resistance to escape, including a new antibody (S2H97) that binds with high affinity to all SARS-related coronavirus clades via a unique RBD epitope centered on residue E516. S2H97 and other escape-resistant antibodies have high binding affinity and target functionally constrained RBD residues. We find that antibodies targeting the ACE2 receptor binding motif (RBM) typically have poor breadth and are readily escaped by mutations despite high neutralization potency, but we identify one potent RBM antibody (S2E12) with breadth across sarbecoviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 and with a high barrier to viral escape. These data highlight functional diversity among antibodies targeting the RBD and identify epitopes and features to prioritize for antibody and vaccine development against the current and potential future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler N. Starr
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | | | - Fabrizia Zatta
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Young-Jun Park
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Zhuoming Liu
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Amin Addetia
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Dora Pinto
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Martina Beltramello
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Allison J. Greaney
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Roberta Marzi
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - William G. Glass
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ivy Zhang
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Adam S. Dingens
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - John E. Bowen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | - Anna De Marco
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Jiayi Zhou
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gloria Lombardo
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Nicole Sprugasci
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Katja Culap
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Jaconi
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Elisabetta Cameroni
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Tristan I. Croll
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0XY, UK
| | - Jay C. Nix
- Molecular Biology Consortium, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | | | | | - Matteo S. Pizzuto
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - John D. Chodera
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Sean P.J. Whelan
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Herbert W. Virgin
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - David Veesler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Davide Corti
- Humabs BioMed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Jesse D. Bloom
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
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14
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Cubuk J, Alston JJ, Incicco JJ, Singh S, Stuchell-Brereton MD, Ward MD, Zimmerman MI, Vithani N, Griffith D, Wagoner JA, Bowman GR, Hall KB, Soranno A, Holehouse AS. The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is dynamic, disordered, and phase separates with RNA. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1936. [PMID: 33782395 PMCID: PMC8007728 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21953-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 264] [Impact Index Per Article: 88.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein is an abundant RNA-binding protein critical for viral genome packaging, yet the molecular details that underlie this process are poorly understood. Here we combine single-molecule spectroscopy with all-atom simulations to uncover the molecular details that contribute to N protein function. N protein contains three dynamic disordered regions that house putative transiently-helical binding motifs. The two folded domains interact minimally such that full-length N protein is a flexible and multivalent RNA-binding protein. N protein also undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation when mixed with RNA, and polymer theory predicts that the same multivalent interactions that drive phase separation also engender RNA compaction. We offer a simple symmetry-breaking model that provides a plausible route through which single-genome condensation preferentially occurs over phase separation, suggesting that phase separation offers a convenient macroscopic readout of a key nanoscopic interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine Cubuk
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jhullian J Alston
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - J Jeremías Incicco
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Sukrit Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Melissa D Stuchell-Brereton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Michael D Ward
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Maxwell I Zimmerman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Neha Vithani
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daniel Griffith
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jason A Wagoner
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Gregory R Bowman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kathleen B Hall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Andrea Soranno
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Alex S Holehouse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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15
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Sun D, Sang Z, Kim YJ, Xiang Y, Cohen T, Belford AK, Huet A, Conway JF, Sun J, Taylor DJ, Schneidman-Duhovny D, Zhang C, Huang W, Shi Y. Potent neutralizing nanobodies resist convergent circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 by targeting novel and conserved epitopes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.03.09.434592. [PMID: 33758850 PMCID: PMC7987009 DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.09.434592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to develop effective interventions resistant to the evolving variants of SARS-CoV-2. Nanobodies (Nbs) are stable and cost-effective agents that can be delivered by novel aerosolization route to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections efficiently. However, it remains unknown if they possess broadly neutralizing activities against the prevalent circulating strains. We found that potent neutralizing Nbs are highly resistant to the convergent variants of concern that evade a large panel of neutralizing antibodies (Abs) and significantly reduce the activities of convalescent or vaccine-elicited sera. Subsequent determination of 9 high-resolution structures involving 6 potent neutralizing Nbs by cryoelectron microscopy reveals conserved and novel epitopes on virus spike inaccessible to Abs. Systematic structural comparison of neutralizing Abs and Nbs provides critical insights into how Nbs uniquely target the spike to achieve high-affinity and broadly neutralizing activity against the evolving virus. Our study will inform the rational design of novel pan-coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dapeng Sun
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Zhe Sang
- The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University Program for Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yong Joon Kim
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yufei Xiang
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tomer Cohen
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Alexis Huet
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | | | - Ji Sun
- Department of Structure Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Derek J. Taylor
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
| | - Dina Schneidman-Duhovny
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Clevaland, OH, USA
| | - Yi Shi
- The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University Program for Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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16
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Thomson EC, Rosen LE, Shepherd JG, Spreafico R, da Silva Filipe A, Wojcechowskyj JA, Davis C, Piccoli L, Pascall DJ, Dillen J, Lytras S, Czudnochowski N, Shah R, Meury M, Jesudason N, De Marco A, Li K, Bassi J, O'Toole A, Pinto D, Colquhoun RM, Culap K, Jackson B, Zatta F, Rambaut A, Jaconi S, Sreenu VB, Nix J, Zhang I, Jarrett RF, Glass WG, Beltramello M, Nomikou K, Pizzuto M, Tong L, Cameroni E, Croll TI, Johnson N, Di Iulio J, Wickenhagen A, Ceschi A, Harbison AM, Mair D, Ferrari P, Smollett K, Sallusto F, Carmichael S, Garzoni C, Nichols J, Galli M, Hughes J, Riva A, Ho A, Schiuma M, Semple MG, Openshaw PJM, Fadda E, Baillie JK, Chodera JD, Rihn SJ, Lycett SJ, Virgin HW, Telenti A, Corti D, Robertson DL, Snell G. Circulating SARS-CoV-2 spike N439K variants maintain fitness while evading antibody-mediated immunity. Cell 2021. [PMID: 33621484 DOI: 10.1101/2020.11.04.355842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 can mutate and evade immunity, with consequences for efficacy of emerging vaccines and antibody therapeutics. Here, we demonstrate that the immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) receptor binding motif (RBM) is a highly variable region of S and provide epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characterization of a prevalent, sentinel RBM mutation, N439K. We demonstrate N439K S protein has enhanced binding affinity to the hACE2 receptor, and N439K viruses have similar in vitro replication fitness and cause infections with similar clinical outcomes as compared to wild type. We show the N439K mutation confers resistance against several neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, including one authorized for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and reduces the activity of some polyclonal sera from persons recovered from infection. Immune evasion mutations that maintain virulence and fitness such as N439K can emerge within SARS-CoV-2 S, highlighting the need for ongoing molecular surveillance to guide development and usage of vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma C Thomson
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | | | - James G Shepherd
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | | | - Ana da Silva Filipe
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | | | - Chris Davis
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Luca Piccoli
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - David J Pascall
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Josh Dillen
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Spyros Lytras
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | | | - Rajiv Shah
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | | | - Natasha Jesudason
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Anna De Marco
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Kathy Li
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Jessica Bassi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Aine O'Toole
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Dora Pinto
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Rachel M Colquhoun
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Katja Culap
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Ben Jackson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Fabrizia Zatta
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Rambaut
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Stefano Jaconi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Vattipally B Sreenu
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Jay Nix
- Molecular Biology Consortium, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ivy Zhang
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ruth F Jarrett
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - William G Glass
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Martina Beltramello
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Kyriaki Nomikou
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Matteo Pizzuto
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Lily Tong
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Elisabetta Cameroni
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Tristan I Croll
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK
| | - Natasha Johnson
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | | | - Arthur Wickenhagen
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Alessandro Ceschi
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland; Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacological Sciences of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland; Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aoife M Harbison
- Department of Chemistry and Hamilton Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
| | - Daniel Mair
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Paolo Ferrari
- Department of Nephrology, Ospedale Civico Lugano, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland; Prince of Wales Hospital Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Katherine Smollett
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Federica Sallusto
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland; ETH Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stephen Carmichael
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Christian Garzoni
- Clinic of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Clinica Luganese Moncucco, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Jenna Nichols
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Massimo Galli
- III Division of Infectious Diseases, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Joseph Hughes
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Agostino Riva
- III Division of Infectious Diseases, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Antonia Ho
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Marco Schiuma
- III Division of Infectious Diseases, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Malcolm G Semple
- NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7BE, UK; Respiratory Medicine, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool L12 2AP, UK
| | - Peter J M Openshaw
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW3 6LY, UK
| | - Elisa Fadda
- Department of Chemistry and Hamilton Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
| | - J Kenneth Baillie
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK; Intensive Care Unit, Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, UK
| | - John D Chodera
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Suzannah J Rihn
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Samantha J Lycett
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Herbert W Virgin
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | | | - Davide Corti
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - David L Robertson
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK.
| | - Gyorgy Snell
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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17
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Jaffrelot Inizan T, Célerse F, Adjoua O, El Ahdab D, Jolly LH, Liu C, Ren P, Montes M, Lagarde N, Lagardère L, Monmarché P, Piquemal JP. High-resolution mining of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease conformational space: supercomputer-driven unsupervised adaptive sampling. Chem Sci 2021; 12:4889-4907. [PMID: 34168762 PMCID: PMC8179654 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc00145k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
We provide an unsupervised adaptive sampling strategy capable of producing μs-timescale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of large biosystems using many-body polarizable force fields (PFFs). The global exploration problem is decomposed into a set of separate MD trajectories that can be restarted within a selective process to achieve sufficient phase-space sampling. Accurate statistical properties can be obtained through reweighting. Within this highly parallel setup, the Tinker-HP package can be powered by an arbitrary large number of GPUs on supercomputers, reducing exploration time from years to days. This approach is used to tackle the urgent modeling problem of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (Mpro) producing more than 38 μs of all-atom simulations of its apo (ligand-free) dimer using the high-resolution AMOEBA PFF. The first 15.14 μs simulation (physiological pH) is compared to available non-PFF long-timescale simulation data. A detailed clustering analysis exhibits striking differences between FFs, with AMOEBA showing a richer conformational space. Focusing on key structural markers related to the oxyanion hole stability, we observe an asymmetry between protomers. One of them appears less structured resembling the experimentally inactive monomer for which a 6 μs simulation was performed as a basis for comparison. Results highlight the plasticity of the Mpro active site. The C-terminal end of its less structured protomer is shown to oscillate between several states, being able to interact with the other protomer, potentially modulating its activity. Active and distal site volumes are found to be larger in the most active protomer within our AMOEBA simulations compared to non-PFFs as additional cryptic pockets are uncovered. A second 17 μs AMOEBA simulation is performed with protonated His172 residues mimicking lower pH. Data show the protonation impact on the destructuring of the oxyanion loop. We finally analyze the solvation patterns around key histidine residues. The confined AMOEBA polarizable water molecules are able to explore a wide range of dipole moments, going beyond bulk values, leading to a water molecule count consistent with experimental data. Results suggest that the use of PFFs could be critical in drug discovery to accurately model the complexity of the molecular interactions structuring Mpro.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Frédéric Célerse
- Sorbonne Université, LCT, UMR 7616 CNRS Paris France
- Sorbonne Université, IPCM, UMR 8232 CNRS Paris France
| | | | - Dina El Ahdab
- Sorbonne Université, LCT, UMR 7616 CNRS Paris France
- Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, UR-EGP Faculté des Sciences Lebanon
| | | | - Chengwen Liu
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Biomedical Engineering Texas USA
| | - Pengyu Ren
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Biomedical Engineering Texas USA
| | - Matthieu Montes
- Laboratoire GBCM, EA 7528, CNAM, Hésam Université Paris France
| | | | - Louis Lagardère
- Sorbonne Université, LCT, UMR 7616 CNRS Paris France
- Sorbonne Université, IP2CT, FR 2622 CNRS Paris France
| | - Pierre Monmarché
- Sorbonne Université, LCT, UMR 7616 CNRS Paris France
- Sorbonne Université, LJLL, UMR 7598 CNRS Paris France
| | - Jean-Philip Piquemal
- Sorbonne Université, LCT, UMR 7616 CNRS Paris France
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Biomedical Engineering Texas USA
- Institut Universitaire de France Paris France
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18
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Carli M, Sormani G, Rodriguez A, Laio A. Candidate Binding Sites for Allosteric Inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease from the Analysis of Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:65-72. [PMID: 33306377 PMCID: PMC7755075 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
We analyzed a 100 μs MD trajectory of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease by a non-parametric data analysis approach which allows characterizing a free energy landscape as a simultaneous function of hundreds of variables. We identified several conformations that, when visited by the dynamics, are stable for several hundred nanoseconds. We explicitly characterize and describe these metastable states. In some of these configurations, the catalytic dyad is less accessible. Stabilizing them by a suitable binder could lead to an inhibition of the enzymatic activity. In our analysis we keep track of relevant contacts between residues which are selectively broken or formed in the states. Some of these contacts are formed by residues which are far from the catalytic dyad and are accessible to the solvent. Based on this analysis we propose some relevant contact patterns and three possible binding sites which could be targeted to achieve allosteric inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Carli
- Scuola
Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giulia Sormani
- Scuola
Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Alex Rodriguez
- The
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Str. Costiera, 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy
| | - Alessandro Laio
- Scuola
Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
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19
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Croll T, Diederichs K, Fischer F, Fyfe C, Gao Y, Horrell S, Joseph AP, Kandler L, Kippes O, Kirsten F, Müller K, Nolte K, Payne A, Reeves MG, Richardson J, Santoni G, Stäb S, Tronrud D, von Soosten L, Williams C, Thorn A. Making the invisible enemy visible. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.10.07.307546. [PMID: 33052340 PMCID: PMC7553165 DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.07.307546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, structural biologists rushed to solve the structures of the 28 proteins encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome in order to understand the viral life cycle and enable structure-based drug design. In addition to the 204 previously solved structures from SARS-CoV-1, 548 structures covering 16 of the SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins have been released in a span of only 6 months. These structural models serve as the basis for research to understand how the virus hijacks human cells, for structure-based drug design, and to aid in the development of vaccines. However, errors often occur in even the most careful structure determination - and may be even more common among these structures, which were solved quickly and under immense pressure. The Coronavirus Structural Task Force has responded to this challenge by rapidly categorizing, evaluating and reviewing all of these experimental protein structures in order to help downstream users and original authors. In addition, the Task Force provided improved models for key structures online, which have been used by Folding@Home, OpenPandemics, the EU JEDI COVID-19 challenge and others.
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20
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian J Mulholland
- School of Chemistry, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Rommie E Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, 3234 Urey Hall, no. 0340 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0340, United States
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21
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Cubuk J, Alston JJ, Incicco JJ, Singh S, Stuchell-Brereton MD, Ward MD, Zimmerman MI, Vithani N, Griffith D, Wagoner JA, Bowman GR, Hall KB, Soranno A, Holehouse AS. The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is dynamic, disordered, and phase separates with RNA. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.06.17.158121. [PMID: 32587966 PMCID: PMC7310622 DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.17.158121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein is an abundant RNA binding protein critical for viral genome packaging, yet the molecular details that underlie this process are poorly understood. Here we combine single-molecule spectroscopy with all-atom simulations to uncover the molecular details that contribute to N protein function. N protein contains three dynamic disordered regions that house putative transiently-helical binding motifs. The two folded domains interact minimally such that full-length N protein is a flexible and multivalent RNA binding protein. N protein also undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation when mixed with RNA, and polymer theory predicts that the same multivalent interactions that drive phase separation also engender RNA compaction. We offer a simple symmetry-breaking model that provides a plausible route through which single-genome condensation preferentially occurs over phase separation, suggesting that phase separation offers a convenient macroscopic readout of a key nanoscopic interaction.
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22
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Vithani N, Ward MD, Zimmerman MI, Novak B, Borowsky JH, Singh S, Bowman GR. SARS-CoV-2 Nsp16 activation mechanism and a cryptic pocket with pan-coronavirus antiviral potential. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.12.10.420109. [PMID: 33330873 PMCID: PMC7743098 DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.10.420109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Coronaviruses have caused multiple epidemics in the past two decades, in addition to the current COVID-19 pandemic that is severely damaging global health and the economy. Coronaviruses employ between twenty and thirty proteins to carry out their viral replication cycle including infection, immune evasion, and replication. Among these, nonstructural protein 16 (Nsp16), a 2'-O-methyltransferase, plays an essential role in immune evasion. Nsp16 achieves this by mimicking its human homolog, CMTr1, which methylates mRNA to enhance translation efficiency and distinguish self from other. Unlike human CMTr1, Nsp16 requires a binding partner, Nsp10, to activate its enzymatic activity. The requirement of this binding partner presents two questions that we investigate in this manuscript. First, how does Nsp10 activate Nsp16? While experimentally-derived structures of the active Nsp16/Nsp10 complex exist, structures of inactive, monomeric Nsp16 have yet to be solved. Therefore, it is unclear how Nsp10 activates Nsp16. Using over one millisecond of molecular dynamics simulations of both Nsp16 and its complex with Nsp10, we investigate how the presence of Nsp10 shifts Nsp16's conformational ensemble in order to activate it. Second, guided by this activation mechanism and Markov state models (MSMs), we investigate if Nsp16 adopts inactive structures with cryptic pockets that, if targeted with a small molecule, could inhibit Nsp16 by stabilizing its inactive state. After identifying such a pocket in SARS-CoV-2 Nsp16, we show that this cryptic pocket also opens in SARS-CoV-1 and MERS, but not in human CMTr1. Therefore, it may be possible to develop pan-coronavirus antivirals that target this cryptic pocket. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Coronaviruses are a major threat to human health. These viruses employ molecular machines, called proteins, to infect host cells and replicate. Characterizing the structure and dynamics of these proteins could provide a basis for designing small molecule antivirals. In this work, we use computer simulations to understand the moving parts of an essential SARS-CoV-2 protein, understand how a binding partner turns it on and off, and identify a novel pocket that antivirals could target to shut this protein off. The pocket is also present in other coronaviruses but not in the related human protein, so it could be a valuable target for pan-coronavirus antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Vithani
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Michael D. Ward
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Maxwell I. Zimmerman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Borna Novak
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
| | - Jonathan H. Borowsky
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Sukrit Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Gregory R. Bowman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
- Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
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23
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Francés-Monerris A, Hognon C, Miclot T, García-Iriepa C, Iriepa I, Terenzi A, Grandemange S, Barone G, Marazzi M, Monari A. Molecular Basis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Rational Design of Potential Antiviral Agents: Modeling and Simulation Approaches. J Proteome Res 2020; 19:4291-4315. [PMID: 33119313 PMCID: PMC7640986 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The emergence in late 2019 of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the breakthrough of the COVID-19 pandemic that is presently affecting a growing number of countries. The development of the pandemic has also prompted an unprecedented effort of the scientific community to understand the molecular bases of the virus infection and to propose rational drug design strategies able to alleviate the serious COVID-19 morbidity. In this context, a strong synergy between the structural biophysics and molecular modeling and simulation communities has emerged, resolving at the atomistic level the crucial protein apparatus of the virus and revealing the dynamic aspects of key viral processes. In this Review, we focus on how in silico studies have contributed to the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism and the proposal of novel and original agents to inhibit the viral key functioning. This Review deals with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, including the mode of action that this structural protein uses to entry human cells, as well as with nonstructural viral proteins, focusing the attention on the most studied proteases and also proposing alternative mechanisms involving some of its domains, such as the SARS unique domain. We demonstrate that molecular modeling and simulation represent an effective approach to gather information on key biological processes and thus guide rational molecular design strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Francés-Monerris
- Université
de Lorraine and CNRS, LPCT UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
- Departament
de Química Física, Universitat
de València, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Cécilia Hognon
- Université
de Lorraine and CNRS, LPCT UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
| | - Tom Miclot
- Université
de Lorraine and CNRS, LPCT UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Cristina García-Iriepa
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
- Chemical
Research Institute “Andrés M. del Río”
(IQAR), Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de
Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Iriepa
- Chemical
Research Institute “Andrés M. del Río”
(IQAR), Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de
Henares, Madrid, Spain
- Department
of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Universidad
de Alcalá, Ctra.
Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alessio Terenzi
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Giampaolo Barone
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Marco Marazzi
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
- Chemical
Research Institute “Andrés M. del Río”
(IQAR), Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de
Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Monari
- Université
de Lorraine and CNRS, LPCT UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
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24
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Yu A, Pak AJ, He P, Monje-Galvan V, Casalino L, Gaieb Z, Dommer AC, Amaro RE, Voth GA. A Multiscale Coarse-grained Model of the SARS-CoV-2 Virion. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020. [PMID: 33024966 DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.02.323915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Computer simulations of complete viral particles can provide theoretical insights into large-scale viral processes including assembly, budding, egress, entry, and fusion. Detailed atomistic simulations, however, are constrained to shorter timescales and require billion-atom simulations for these processes. Here, we report the current status and on-going development of a largely "bottom-up" coarse-grained (CG) model of the SARS-CoV-2 virion. Structural data from a combination of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), x-ray crystallography, and computational predictions were used to build molecular models of structural SARS-CoV-2 proteins, which were then assembled into a complete virion model. We describe how CG molecular interactions can be derived from all-atom simulations, how viral behavior difficult to capture in atomistic simulations can be incorporated into the CG models, and how the CG models can be iteratively improved as new data becomes publicly available. Our initial CG model and the detailed methods presented are intended to serve as a resource for researchers working on COVID-19 who are interested in performing multiscale simulations of the SARS-CoV-2 virion. Significance Statement This study reports the construction of a molecular model for the SARS-CoV-2 virion and details our multiscale approach towards model refinement. The resulting model and methods can be applied to and enable the simulation of SARS-CoV-2 virions.
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25
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Palermo G, Bonvin AMJJ, Dal Peraro M, Amaro RE, Tozzini V. Editorial: Multiscale Modeling From Macromolecules to Cell: Opportunities and Challenges of Biomolecular Simulations. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:194. [PMID: 33005628 PMCID: PMC7484804 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Palermo
- Departments of Bioengineering and Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Alexandre M. J. J. Bonvin
- Faculty of Science - Chemistry, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Matteo Dal Peraro
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fdédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rommie E. Amaro
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Valentina Tozzini
- Istituto Nanoscienze, CNR, Pisa, Italy
- Lab NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
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26
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Sztain T, Amaro R, McCammon JA. Elucidation of cryptic and allosteric pockets within the SARS-CoV-2 protease. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.07.23.218784. [PMID: 32743587 PMCID: PMC7386507 DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.23.218784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has rapidly spread across the globe, posing an urgent health concern. Many quests to computationally identify treatments against the virus rely on in silico small molecule docking to experimentally determined structures of viral proteins. One limit to these approaches is that protein dynamics are often unaccounted for, leading to overlooking transient, druggable conformational states. Using Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics to enhance sampling of conformational space, we identified cryptic pockets within the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, including some within regions far from the active site and assed their druggability. These pockets can aid in virtual screening efforts to identify a protease inhibitor for the treatment of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - J. Andrew McCammon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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