International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science
We have a NEW PAPER!
Identification of a novel binding site on a SARS-COV-2 spike glycoprotein
Publication access: https://www.mdpi.com/716082
Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The 2019-2020 coronavirus outbreak, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020, caused multiple deaths and changed the way we live and work. There is a huge ongoing international effort to contain the disease and to find effective medications. Many Polish clinicians and scientists are on the front line of the Covid-19-related developments by helping patients in hospital words, performing diagnostic testing, providing advice to policy makers and doing valuable research that could speed up development of effective vaccines and therapeutics.
A recent example of our investigators' research on Covid-19- is study entitled “Highly conserved homotrimer cavity formed by the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein: a novel binding site”, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein plays an important role in the life cycle of the virus by binding to angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor on host cells (facilitating entry into the host cell. The team measured spike protein variability derived from 791 viral genomes and studied its properties by molecular dynamics simulation. The molecular docking data revealed a previously unidentified cavity formed by trimerization of the Spike protein that could accommodate macrolide antibiotics such as Rapamycin. The finding of a novel “druggable” site on the Spike protein will assist in future drug discovery programs aimed at targeting the coronavirus (CoV) family of viruses using macrocyclic immunomodulatory compounds. This collaboration reinforces the value that the International Research Agenda Programme of the FNP and the Gdańsk University place on working with our international colleagues and emphasizes the need to develop ever stronger international research ties to tackle emerging global health problems.
Huge congratulations to all of our researchers: Umesh Kalathiya, Monikaben Padariya, Marcos Mayordomo, Małgorzata Lisowska, Ashita Singh, Robin Fahraeus, Neil Carragher, Kathryn Ball, Ted R. Hupp and Javier Antonio Alfaro! ... See more
