Unlocking COVID therapeutic targets: a structure based rationale against SARS CoV 2, SARS CoV and MERS CoV Spike

There are no approved target therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 or other beta-CoVs. The beta-CoV Spike protein is a promising target considering the critical role in viral infection and pathogenesis and its surface exposed features.We performed a structure-based strategy targeting highly conserved druggable regions resulting from a comprehensive large-scale sequence analysis and structural characterization of Spike domains across SARSr- and MERSr-CoVs.We have disclosed 28 main consensus druggable pockets within the Spike. The RBD and SDI (S1 sub-unit); and the CR, HR1 and CH (S2 subunit) represent the most promising conserved druggable regions. Additionally, we have identified 181 new potential hot spot residues for the hSARSr-CoVs and 72 new hot spot residues for the SARSr- and MERSr-CoVs, which have not been described before in the literature. These sites/residues exhibit advantageous structural features for targeted molecular and pharmacological modulation.This study establishes the Spike as a promising anti-CoV target using an approach with a potential higher resilience to resistance development and directed to a broad spectrum of Beta-CoVs, including the new SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19. This research also provides a structure-based rationale for the design and discovery of chemical inhibitors, antibodies or other therapeutic modalities successfully targeting the Beta-CoV Spike protein. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology.