COMPUTER DESIGNED SYNTHETIC ANTIVIRAL PROTEINS INHIBIT SARS-COV 2/COVID 19 IN HUMAN CELLS

–Rishav Chakraborty, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata

The SARS-COV infection occurred first in 2003-2004. The infection is believed to be contracted from animals including monkeys, Himalayan palm civets, cats, dogs, and rodents. Clinical manifestation including myalgia, headache, sore throat, and fever followed by severe respiratory distress.

The virus binds with the ACE-2 (Angiotensinogen Converting Enzyme) receptors. The receptors are present in the Lungs, Kidney, Systemic Circulation, and Splanchnic circulation. The disease is transmitted by droplets, direct contact, or fomites.

The SARS-COV 2 infection which occurred in 2019-2020 made its impact upon the whole world and the WHO (World Health Organisation ) declaring this infection as a pandemic.

Computer-designed small proteins have now been shown to inhibit the SARS-COV-2 and protect the artificial human cells cultured in the laboratory with the virus. The findings were reported in the Journal Science on September 9, 2020.

Coronavirus is studded with spike proteins. They get into the human cells with the help of these proteins in order to infect them. The development of drugs that interfere or inhibit the entry mechanism could eventually lead to the treatment or even prevention of the infection.

Institute for Protein Design researchers at the University of WSM (Washington School of Medicine) used computers to synthesize new proteins that bind with the SARS-COV 2 spike protein and prevent them from infecting the cells.

The antiviral protein is developed by researchers in 2 steps, firstly a segment of the ACE-2 receptor is incorporated into a series of protein scaffolds, and then completely synthetic proteins were designed from the scratch. Even though the researchers have synthesized a computer-based antiviral protein but extensive clinical trials must be conducted in order to approve it as a drug.

To confirm that the computer-based protein attaches to the coronavirus spike protein, the researchers collected snapshots of two molecules interacting by using cryo-electron microscopy.

They inferred that the hyperstable minibinders provide promising starting points for new SARS-COV 2 therapeutics.