Bat coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2: what about their 3CL proteases (MPro)?

Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry

Davide Bassani¹  Matteo Pavan¹  Mattia Sturlese¹  Stefano Moro¹ 

[1] Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences University of Padova, Padova, Italy;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    bat coronavirus;    sarbecovirus;    BANAL;    Laos;    MPro;   

DOI  :  10.1080/14756366.2022.2062336

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Despite a huge effort by the scientific community to determine the animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, which led to the identification of several SARS-CoV-2-related viruses both in bats and in pangolins, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still not clear. Recently, Temmam et al. reported the discovery of bat coronaviruses with a high degree of genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning the RBDs of the S protein, which mediates the capability of such viruses to enter and therefore infect human cells through a hACE2-dependent pathway. These viruses, especially the one named BANAL-236, showed a higher affinity for the hACE2 compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. In the present work, we analyse the similarities and differences between the 3CL protease (main protease, Mpro) of these newly reported viruses and SARS-CoV-2, discussing their relevance relative to the efficacy of existing therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, particularly concerning the recently approved orally available Paxlovid, and the development of future ones.

【 授权许可】

Unknown