Genetic architecture of host proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection

AbstractUnderstanding the genetic architecture of host proteins interacting with SARS-CoV-2 or mediating the maladaptive host response to COVID-19 can help to identify new or repurpose existing drugs targeting those proteins. We present a genetic discovery study of 179 such host proteins among 10,708 individuals using an aptamer-based technique. We identify 220 host DNA sequence variants acting in cis (MAF 0.01-49.9%) and explaining 0.3-70.9% of the variance of 97 of these proteins, including 45 with no previously known protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) and 38 encoding current drug targets. Systematic characterization of pQTLs across the phenome identified protein-drug-disease links and evidence that putative viral interaction partners such as MARK3 affect immune response. Our results accelerate the evaluation and prioritization of new drug development programmes and repurposing of trials to prevent, treat or reduce adverse outcomes. Rapid sharing and detailed interrogation of results is facilitated through an interactive webserver (https://omicscience.org/apps/covidpgwas/).

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Genetic architecture of host proteins interacting with SARS-CoV-2

10.1101/2020.07.01.182709 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maik Pietzner ◽

Eleanor Wheeler ◽

Julia Carrasco-Zanini ◽

Johannes Raffler ◽

Nicola D. Kerrison ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protein Interactions ◽

Host Response ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Genetic Architecture ◽

Large Scale ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

Host Protein ◽

Host Proteins ◽

Proteomic Data ◽

Cellular Assays

ABSTRACTStrategies to develop therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 infection may be informed by experimental identification of viral-host protein interactions in cellular assays and measurement of host response proteins in COVID-19 patients. Identification of genetic variants that influence the level or activity of these proteins in the host could enable rapid ‘in silico’ assessment in human genetic studies of their causal relevance as molecular targets for new or repurposed drugs to treat COVID-19. We integrated large-scale genomic and aptamer-based plasma proteomic data from 10,708 individuals to characterize the genetic architecture of 179 host proteins reported to interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins or to participate in the host response to COVID-19. We identified 220 host DNA sequence variants acting in cis (MAF 0.01-49.9%) and explaining 0.3-70.9% of the variance of 97 of these proteins, including 45 with no previously known protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) and 38 encoding current drug targets. Systematic characterization of pQTLs across the phenome identified protein-drug-disease links, evidence that putative viral interaction partners such as MARK3 affect immune response, and establish the first link between a recently reported variant for respiratory failure of COVID-19 patients at the ABO locus and hypercoagulation, i.e. maladaptive host response. Our results accelerate the evaluation and prioritization of new drug development programmes and repurposing of trials to prevent, treat or reduce adverse outcomes. Rapid sharing and dynamic and detailed interrogation of results is facilitated through an interactive webserver (https://omicscience.org/apps/covidpgwas/).

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Mass Spectrometry–Based Proteomics: Principles, Perspectives, and Challenges

Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine ◽

10.5858/2008-132-1566-mspppa ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 132 (10) ◽

pp. 1566-1569

Author(s):

Jacek R. Wiśniewski

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Subcellular Localization ◽

Posttranslational Modification ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Quantitative Characterization ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Interaction Partners

Abstract Mass spectrometry–based proteomics is a modern and rapidly developing methodology for qualitative and quantitative characterization of proteins and their posttranslational modification, subcellular localization, and interaction partners. It enables characterization of entire proteomes with unprecedented sensitivity and precision, providing platforms for identification of biomarkers and drug targets.

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Molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2

Current Molecular Medicine ◽

10.2174/1566524020999201203213037 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

Author(s):

Miribane Dërmaku-Sopjani ◽

Mentor Sopjani

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Virus Genome ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Public Health Crisis ◽

Therapeutic Drugs ◽

New Public Health ◽

New Public ◽

And Function

Abstract:: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a new public health crisis threatening the world. This pandemic disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus has been reported to be originated in bats and by yet unknown intermediary animals were transmitted to humans in China 2019. The SARSCoV- 2 spreads faster than its two ancestors the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) but has reduced fatality. At present, the SARS-CoV-2 has caused about a 1.16 million of deaths with more than 43.4 million confirmed cases worldwide, resulting in a serious threat to public health globally with yet uncertain impact. The disease is transmitted by inhalation or direct contact with an infected person. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 14 days. COVID-19 is accompanied by various symptoms, including cough, fatigue. In most people the disease is mild, but in some other people, such as in elderly and people with chronic diseases, it may progress from pneumonia to a multi-organ dysfunction. Many people are reported asymptomatic. The virus genome is sequenced, but new variants are reported. Numerous biochemical aspects of its structure and function are revealed. To date, no clinically approved vaccines and/or specific therapeutic drugs are available to prevent or treat the COVID-19. However, there are reported intensive researches on the SARSCoV- 2 to potentially identify vaccines and/or drug targets, which may help to overcome the disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 and its biochemical characteristics.

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DNA G-quadruplexes for native mass spectrometry in potassium: a database of validated structures in electrospray-compatible conditions

Nucleic Acids Research ◽

10.1093/nar/gkab039 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anirban Ghosh ◽

Eric Largy ◽

Valérie Gabelica

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Native Mass Spectrometry ◽

Drug Binding ◽

Quadruplex Dna ◽

Dna Structures ◽

Nmr Structures ◽

G Quadruplex ◽

Screening Assays

Abstract G-quadruplex DNA structures have become attractive drug targets, and native mass spectrometry can provide detailed characterization of drug binding stoichiometry and affinity, potentially at high throughput. However, the G-quadruplex DNA polymorphism poses problems for interpreting ligand screening assays. In order to establish standardized MS-based screening assays, we studied 28 sequences with documented NMR structures in (usually ∼100 mM) potassium, and report here their circular dichroism (CD), melting temperature (Tm), NMR spectra and electrospray mass spectra in 1 mM KCl/100 mM trimethylammonium acetate. Based on these results, we make a short-list of sequences that adopt the same structure in the MS assay as reported by NMR, and provide recommendations on using them for MS-based assays. We also built an R-based open-source application to build and consult a database, wherein further sequences can be incorporated in the future. The application handles automatically most of the data processing, and allows generating custom figures and reports. The database is included in the g4dbr package (https://github.com/EricLarG4/g4dbr) and can be explored online (https://ericlarg4.github.io/G4_database.html).

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De-Coding the Contributions of the Viral RNAs to Alphaviral Pathogenesis

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10060771 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 771

Author(s):

Autumn T. LaPointe ◽

Kevin J. Sokoloski

Keyword(s):

Host Response ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Review Article ◽

Structural Proteins ◽

Virulence Determinants ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Viral Rnas ◽

Positive Sense ◽

Identification And Characterization

Alphaviruses are positive-sense RNA arboviruses that are capable of causing severe disease in otherwise healthy individuals. There are many aspects of viral infection that determine pathogenesis and major efforts regarding the identification and characterization of virulence determinants have largely focused on the roles of the nonstructural and structural proteins. Nonetheless, the viral RNAs of the alphaviruses themselves play important roles in regard to virulence and pathogenesis. In particular, many sequences and secondary structures within the viral RNAs play an important part in the development of disease and may be considered important determinants of virulence. In this review article, we summarize the known RNA-based virulence traits and host:RNA interactions that influence alphaviral pathogenesis for each of the viral RNA species produced during infection. Overall, the viral RNAs produced during infection are important contributors to alphaviral pathogenesis and more research is needed to fully understand how each RNA species impacts the host response to infection as well as the development of disease.

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Network-Guided Discovery of Influenza Virus Replication Host Factors

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.02002-18 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Emily E. Ackerman ◽

Eiryo Kawakami ◽

Manami Katoh ◽

Tokiko Watanabe ◽

Shinji Watanabe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Viral Replication ◽

Virus Replication ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Antiviral Drug ◽

Viral Proteins ◽

Host Factors ◽

Ppi Network ◽

Host Proteins ◽

Influenza Virus Replication

ABSTRACTThe positions of host factors required for viral replication within a human protein-protein interaction (PPI) network can be exploited to identify drug targets that are robust to drug-mediated selective pressure. Host factors can physically interact with viral proteins, be a component of virus-regulated pathways (where proteins do not interact with viral proteins), or be required for viral replication but unregulated by viruses. Here, we demonstrate a method of combining human PPI networks with virus-host PPI data to improve antiviral drug discovery for influenza viruses by identifying target host proteins. Analysis shows that influenza virus proteins physically interact with host proteins in network positions significant for information flow, even after the removal of known abundance-degree bias within PPI data. We have isolated a subnetwork of the human PPI network that connects virus-interacting host proteins to host factors that are important for influenza virus replication without physically interacting with viral proteins. The subnetwork is enriched for signaling and immune processes distinct from those associated with virus-interacting proteins. Selecting proteins based on subnetwork topology, we performed an siRNA screen to determine whether the subnetwork was enriched for virus replication host factors and whether network position within the subnetwork offers an advantage in prioritization of drug targets to control influenza virus replication. We found that the subnetwork is highly enriched for target host proteins—more so than the set of host factors that physically interact with viral proteins. Our findings demonstrate that network positions are a powerful predictor to guide antiviral drug candidate prioritization.IMPORTANCEIntegrating virus-host interactions with host protein-protein interactions, we have created a method using these established network practices to identify host factors (i.e., proteins) that are likely candidates for antiviral drug targeting. We demonstrate that interaction cascades between host proteins that directly interact with viral proteins and host factors that are important to influenza virus replication are enriched for signaling and immune processes. Additionally, we show that host proteins that interact with viral proteins are in network locations of power. Finally, we demonstrate a new network methodology to predict novel host factors and validate predictions with an siRNA screen. Our results show that integrating virus-host proteins interactions is useful in the identification of antiviral drug target candidates.

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The transcriptome of Echinostoma caproni adults: Further characterization of the secretome and identification of new potential drug targets

Journal of Proteomics ◽

10.1016/j.jprot.2013.06.017 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 89 ◽

pp. 202-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Gagan Garg ◽

Dolores Bernal ◽

Maria Trelis ◽

Javier Forment ◽

Javier Ortiz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Targets ◽

Potential Drug ◽

Echinostoma Caproni ◽

Potential Drug Targets

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RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase as a Target for COVID-19 Drug Discovery

SLAS DISCOVERY Advancing Life Sciences ◽

10.1177/2472555220942123 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (10) ◽

pp. 1141-1151 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wei Zhu ◽

Catherine Z. Chen ◽

Kirill Gorshkov ◽

Miao Xu ◽

Donald C. Lo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rna Polymerase ◽

High Throughput Screening ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Host Cells ◽

Host Proteins ◽

Rna Dependent Rna Polymerase ◽

Global Health Issue ◽

Repurposed Drugs ◽

Viral Enzyme ◽

Target Effects

COVID-19 respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly become a global health issue since it emerged in December 2019. While great global efforts are underway to develop vaccines and to discover or repurpose therapeutic agents for this disease, as of this writing only the nucleoside drug remdesivir has been approved under Emergency Use Authorization to treat COVID-19. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), a viral enzyme for viral RNA replication in host cells, is one of the most intriguing and promising drug targets for SARS-CoV-2 drug development. Because RdRP is a viral enzyme with no host cell homologs, selective SARS-CoV-2 RdRP inhibitors can be developed that have improved potency and fewer off-target effects against human host proteins and thus are safer and more effective therapeutics for treating COVID-19. This review focuses on biochemical enzyme and cell-based assays for RdRPs that could be used in high-throughput screening to discover new and repurposed drugs against SARS-CoV-2.

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