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Balupuri A, Kim JM, Choi KE, No JS, Kim IH, Rhee JE, Kim EJ, Kang NS. Comparative Computational Analysis of Spike Protein Structural Stability in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariants. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16069. [PMID: 38003257 PMCID: PMC10671153 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The continuous emergence of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with multiple spike (S) protein mutations pose serious threats to current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therapies. A comprehensive understanding of the structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 variants is vital for the development of effective therapeutic strategies as it can offer valuable insights into their potential impact on viral infectivity. S protein mediates a virus' attachment to host cells by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) through its receptor-binding domain (RBD), and mutations in this protein can affect its stability and binding affinity. We analyzed S protein structural stability in various Omicron subvariants computationally. Notably, the S protein sequences analyzed in this work were obtained directly from our own sample collection. We evaluated the binding free energy between S protein and ACE2 in several complex forms. Additionally, we measured distances between the RBD of each chain in S protein to analyze conformational changes. Unlike most of the prior studies, we analyzed full-length S protein-ACE2 complexes instead of only RBD-ACE2 complexes. Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4/BA.5, BA.2.75, BA.2.75_K147E, BA.4.6 and BA.4.6_N658S showed enhanced stability compared to wild type, potentially due to distinct S protein mutations. Among them, BA.2.75 and BA.4.6_N658S exhibited the highest and lowest level of stability, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Balupuri
- Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea; (A.B.); (K.-E.C.)
| | - Jeong-Min Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease, Control and Prevention Agency, 187 Osongsaengmyeong 2-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si 28159, Republic of Korea; (J.-M.K.); (J.S.N.); (I.-H.K.); (J.E.R.)
| | - Kwang-Eun Choi
- Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea; (A.B.); (K.-E.C.)
| | - Jin Sun No
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease, Control and Prevention Agency, 187 Osongsaengmyeong 2-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si 28159, Republic of Korea; (J.-M.K.); (J.S.N.); (I.-H.K.); (J.E.R.)
| | - Il-Hwan Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease, Control and Prevention Agency, 187 Osongsaengmyeong 2-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si 28159, Republic of Korea; (J.-M.K.); (J.S.N.); (I.-H.K.); (J.E.R.)
| | - Jee Eun Rhee
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease, Control and Prevention Agency, 187 Osongsaengmyeong 2-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si 28159, Republic of Korea; (J.-M.K.); (J.S.N.); (I.-H.K.); (J.E.R.)
| | - Eun-Jin Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease, Control and Prevention Agency, 187 Osongsaengmyeong 2-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si 28159, Republic of Korea; (J.-M.K.); (J.S.N.); (I.-H.K.); (J.E.R.)
| | - Nam Sook Kang
- Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea; (A.B.); (K.-E.C.)
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Swain RK, Mohanty SS, Thakor M, Sharma AK. Assessment of thermal and temporal stability of SARS-CoV-2 samples using real-time qRT-PCR. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:8565-8573. [PMID: 37644371 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08740-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs in viral transport medium (VTM) are to be stored at 4 °C for less than 5 days and for more than 5 days at -70 °C. Samples are not transported or stored as per prescribed conditions because of the limitations, resulting in an apprehensive diagnosis. The aim of the study was to test the stability of the SARS-CoV-2 sample stored in VTM at different temperatures. METHODS In this study, the stability of 21 positive and 9 negative samples for SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated in commercial VTM at different temperatures (-80 °C, -20 °C, 4 °C, and 25 to 30 °C). Stability was checked for up to 50 days in the above storage conditions at different intervals. PathoDetect™ and Hi-PCR® kits were used for the detection of the four genes of SARS-CoV-2. The Cycle Threshold (Ct) value for determining the positivity of samples for PathoDetect™ was < 40 and for Hi-PCR® was < 38. RESULTS The SARS-CoV-2 confirmatory genes (RdRp and E genes) and the internal housekeeping gene remained detectable even on the 50th day of the study. The Ct of the RdRp and E genes were found to increase with storage duration, but all positive samples remained positive till the end of the study, or the Ct value remained below the cut-off level. The negative samples gave consistent results until the end of the study. When the differences in Ct values were compared between the days in a set of experiments, they were not significantly different except in a few samples. CONCLUSION The SARS-CoV-2 genetic materials in commercial VTM were stable at room temperature to -80 °C for 50 days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit Kumar Swain
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, MANIT, Bhopal, India
| | - S S Mohanty
- Virology Laboratory, Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases (ICMR-NIIRNCD), New Pali Road, Jodhpur, 342005, Rajasthan, India.
| | - Mahendra Thakor
- Virology Laboratory, Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases (ICMR-NIIRNCD), New Pali Road, Jodhpur, 342005, Rajasthan, India
| | - A K Sharma
- Virology Laboratory, Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases (ICMR-NIIRNCD), New Pali Road, Jodhpur, 342005, Rajasthan, India
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Kim JM, Kim D, Lee NJ, Woo SH, Lee J, Lee H, Park AK, Kim JA, Lee CY, Kim ,IH, Yoo CK, Kim EJ. Increased viral load in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variant in the Republic of Korea. Osong Public Health Res Perspect 2023; 14:272-278. [PMID: 37652682 PMCID: PMC10493702 DOI: 10.24171/j.phrp.2023.0024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic owing to the rapid spread of the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Its Delta and Omicron variants are more transmissible and pathogenic than other variants. Some debates have emerged on the mechanism of variants of concern. In the COVID-19 wave that began in December 2021, the Omicron variant, first reported in South Africa, became identifiable in most cases globally. The aim of this study was to provide data to inform effective responses to the transmission of the Omicron variant. METHODS The Delta variant and the spike protein D614G mutant were compared with the Omicron variant. Viral loads from 5 days after symptom onset were compared using epidemiological data collected at the time of diagnosis. RESULTS The Omicron variant exhibited a higher viral load than other variants, resulting in greater transmissibility within 5 days of symptom onset. CONCLUSION Future research should focus on vaccine efficacy against the Omicron variant and compare trends in disease severity associated with its high viral load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeong-Min Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongju Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam-Joo Lee
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Hee Woo
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaehee Lee
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeokjin Lee
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Ae Kyung Park
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Ah Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Chae Young Lee
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - , Il-Hwan Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Cheon Kwon Yoo
- Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Kim
- Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
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Kim JE, Choi H, Lee M, Lee CH. The effect of shortening the quarantine period and lifting the indoor mask mandate on the spread of COVID-19: a mathematical modeling approach. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1166528. [PMID: 37546304 PMCID: PMC10401846 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we present a mathematical model to assess the impact of reducing the quarantine period and lifting the indoor mask mandate on the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. The model incorporates important epidemiological parameters, such as transmission rates and mortality rates, to simulate the transmission of the virus under different scenarios. Our findings reveal that the impact of mask wearing fades in the long term, which highlights the crucial role of quarantine in controlling the spread of the disease. In addition, balancing the confirmed cases and costs, the lifting of mandatory indoor mask wearing is cost-effective; however, maintaining the quarantine period remains essential. A relationship between the disease transmission rate and vaccine efficiency was also apparent, with higher transmission rates leading to a greater impact of the vaccine efficiency. Moreover, our findings indicate that a higher disease transmission rate exacerbates the consequences of early quarantine release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung Eun Kim
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Korea Science Academy of KAIST, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Heejin Choi
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Minji Lee
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang Hyeong Lee
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
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Zhou L, Liu T, Mo M, Shi Y, Wu L, Li Y, Qin Q, Zhu W, Wu C, Gong L, Xu Z. Exploring the Binding Affinity and Mechanism between ACE2 and the Trimers of Delta and Omicron Spike Proteins by Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Bioassay. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:4512-4522. [PMID: 36053674 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Five major variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have emerged and posed challenges in controlling the pandemic. Among them, the current dominant variant, viz., Omicron, has raised serious concerns about its infectiousness and antibody neutralization. However, few studies pay attention to the effect of the mutations on the dynamic interaction network of Omicron S protein trimers binding to the host angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In this study, we conducted molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to explore the binding strength and mechanism of wild type (WT), Delta, and Omicron S protein trimers to ACE2. The results showed that the binding capacities of both the two variants' S protein trimers to ACE2 are enhanced in varying degrees, indicating possibly higher cell infectiousness. Energy decomposition and protein-protein interaction network analysis suggested that both the mutational and conserved sites make effects on the increase in the overall affinity through a variety of interactions. The experimentally determined KD values by biolayer interferometry (BLI) and the predicted binding free energies of the RBDs of Delta and Omicron to mAb HLX70 revealed that the two variants may have the high risk of immune evasion from the mAb. These results are not only helpful in understanding the binding strength and mechanism of S protein trimer-ACE2 but also beneficial for drug, especially for antibody development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tingting Liu
- Center for Drug Safety Evaluation and Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mengxia Mo
- College of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Yulong Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Leyun Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yishui Li
- Institute for Quantum Information and State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
| | - Qiuping Qin
- Center for Drug Safety Evaluation and Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Weiliang Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.,Open Studio for Druggability Research of Marine Natural Products, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), 1 Wenhai Road, Aoshanwei, Jimo, Qingdao 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengkun Wu
- Institute for Quantum Information and State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
| | - Likun Gong
- Center for Drug Safety Evaluation and Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.,Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan, Guangdong 528400, China
| | - Zhijian Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Drug Discovery and Design Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.,School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.,State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, Beijing 100700, P. R. China
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