International journal of biological macromolecules
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Int. J. Biol. Macromol. · Jun 2021
Notable sequence homology of the ORF10 protein introspects the architecture of SARS-CoV-2.
The current Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) shows similar pathology to MERS and SARS-CoV, with a current estimated fatality rate of 1.4%. Open reading frame 10 (ORF10) is a unique SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein, which contains eleven cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes each of nine amino acids in length. ⋯ Though there is a high degree of ORF10 protein similarity of SARS-CoV-2 and Pangolin-CoV, there are differences of these two ORF10 proteins related to their sub-structure (loop/coil region), solubility, antigenicity and shift from strand to coil at aa position 26 (tyrosine). SARS-CoV-2 ORF10, which is apparently expressed in vivo since reactive T cell clones are found in convalescent patients should be monitored for changes which could correlate with the pathogenesis of COVID-19.
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Int. J. Biol. Macromol. · Dec 2020
Screening and evaluation of approved drugs as inhibitors of main protease of SARS-CoV-2.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a global catastrophe. The virus requires main protease for processing the viral polyproteins PP1A and PP1AB translated from the viral RNA. In search of a quick, safe and successful therapeutic agent; we screened various clinically approved drugs for the in-vitro inhibitory effect on 3CLPro which may be able to halt virus replication. ⋯ Our results provide critical insights into the mechanism of action of Teicoplanin as a potential therapeutic against COVID-19. We found that Teicoplanin is about 10-20 fold more potent in inhibiting protease activity than other drugs in use, such as lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin, atazanavir etc. Therefore, Teicoplanin emerged as the best inhibitor among all drug molecules we screened against 3CLPro of SARS-CoV-2.
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Int. J. Biol. Macromol. · Dec 2020
ReviewApplication prospect of polysaccharides in the development of anti-novel coronavirus drugs and vaccines.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it has spread rapidly worldwide and poses a great threat to public health. This is the third serious coronavirus outbreak in <20 years, following SARS in 2002-2003 and MERS in 2012. So far, there are almost no specific clinically effective drugs and vaccines available for COVID-19. ⋯ In particular, the application prospects of polysaccharide-based vaccine adjuvants, nanomaterials and drug delivery systems in the fight against novel coronavirus were also analyzed and summarized. Additionally, we speculate the possible mechanisms of polysaccharides anti-SARS-CoV-2, and propose the strategy of loading S or N protein from coronavirus onto polysaccharide capped gold nanoparticles vaccine for COVID-19 treatment. This review may provide a new approach for the development of COVID-19 therapeutic agents and vaccines.
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Int. J. Biol. Macromol. · Dec 2020
A molecular docking study revealed that synthetic peptides induced conformational changes in the structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, disrupting the interaction with human ACE2 receptor.
The global outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome caused by Coronavirus 2) began in December 2019. Its closest relative, SARS-CoV-1, has a slightly mutated Spike (S) protein, which interacts with ACE2 receptor in human cells to start the infection. So far, there are no vaccines or drugs to treat COVID-19. ⋯ Therefore, given the importance of the S protein-ACE2 interaction for SARS-CoV-2 infection, synthetic peptides could block SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, unlike other antiviral drugs, peptides have no toxicity to human cells. Thus, these peptides are potential molecules to be tested against SARS-CoV-2 and to develop new drugs to treat COVID-19.
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Int. J. Biol. Macromol. · Nov 2020
Silver sulfadiazine-loaded electrospun ethyl cellulose/polylactic acid/collagen nanofibrous mats with antibacterial properties for wound healing.
Recently, the electrospun nanofiber mats with appropriate properties for applications in the biomedical area has been more considered. In this regard, we successfully fabricated a novel antibacterial nanofiber mat (ethyl cellulose/poly lactic acid/collagen) (EC/PLA/collagen) incorporated with silver sulfadiazine (AgSD) and then analyzed with the required tests. AgSD was loaded in the developed mats with different contents (0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%) and then electrospun to prepare nanofiber mats. ⋯ The antibacterial properties showed the inhibition activity against Bacillus (9.71 ± 1.15 mm) and E. coli (12.46 ± 1.31 mm) bacteria. Besides, nanofibers have improved cell proliferation and adhesion with any cytotoxic effect on NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells. According these results, it seems that the developed mats would be effective scaffold for application in wound dressings.