The global emergency caused by COVID-19 makes the discovery of drugs capable of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 a priority, to reduce the mortality and morbidity of this disease. Repurposing approved drugs can provide therapeutic alternatives that promise rapid and ample coverage because they have a documented safety record, as well as infrastructure for large-scale production. The main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro) is an excellent therapeutic target because it is critical for viral replication; however, Mpro has a highly flexible active site that must be considered when performing computer-assisted drug discovery. In this work, potential inhibitors of the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-Cov-2 were identified through a docking-assisted virtual screening procedure. A total of 4384 drugs, all approved for human use, were screened against three conformers of Mpro. The ligands were further studied through molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy analysis. A total of nine currently approved molecules are proposed as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. These molecules can be further tested to speed the development of therapeutics against COVID-19.

The influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) envelope protein mediates virus entry by first binding to cell surface receptors and then fusing viral and endosomal membranes during endocytosis. Cleavage of the HA precursor (HA0) into a surface receptor-binding subunit (HA1) and a fusion-inducing transmembrane subunit (HA2) by host cell enzymes primes HA for fusion competence by repositioning the fusion peptide to the newly created N terminus of HA2. We previously reported that the influenza virus M2 protein enhances pandemic 2009 influenza A virus [(H1N1)pdm09] HA-pseudovirus infectivity, but the mechanism was unclear. In this study, using cell-cell fusion and HA-pseudovirus infectivity assays, we found that the ion channel function of M2 was required for enhancement of HA fusion and HA-pseudovirus infectivity. The M2 activity was needed only during HA biosynthesis, and proteolysis experiments indicated that M2 proton channel activity helped to protect (H1N1)pdm09 HA from premature conformational changes as it traversed low-pH compartments during transport to the cell surface. While M2 has previously been shown to protect avian influenza virus HA proteins of the H5 and H7 subtypes that have polybasic cleavage motifs, this study demonstrates that M2 can protect HA proteins from human H1N1 strains that lack a polybasic cleavage motif. This finding suggests that M2 proton channel activity may play a wider role in preserving HA fusion competence among a variety of HA subtypes, including HA proteins from emerging strains that may have reduced HA stability. IMPORTANCEInfluenza virus infects cells when the hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein undergoes irreversible pH-induced conformational changes after the virus is taken into the cell by endocytosis. HA fusion competence is primed when host cell enzymes cleave the HA precursor. The proton channel function of influenza virus M2 protein has previously been shown to protect avian influenza virus HA proteins that contain a polybasic cleavage site from pH-induced conformational changes during biosynthesis, but this effect is less well understood for human influenza virus HA proteins that lack polybasic cleavage sites. Using assays that focus on HA entry and fusion, we found that the M2 protein also protects (H1N1)pdm09 influenza A virus HA from premature conformational changes as it transits low-pH compartments during biosynthesis. This work suggests that M2 may play a wider role in preserving HA function in a variety of influenza virus subtypes that infect humans and may be especially important for HA proteins that are less stable. T he influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) envelope protein mediates virus entry by binding to cell surface receptors, followed by endocytosis and fusion of the viral and endosomal membranes. Cellular proteases cleave the HA precursor (HA0) to generate the HA1 surface subunit, which mediates binding to cell surface sialic acid receptors, and the HA2 transmembrane subunit, which mediates membrane fusion between viral and endosomal membranes during e...

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic highlights the need to better understand influenza A infectivity and antigenicity. Relative to other recent seasonal H1N1 influenza strains, the 2009 H1N1 virus grew less efficiently in eggs, which hindered efforts to rapidly supply vaccine. Using lentiviral pseudotypes bearing influenza hemagglutinin (HA-pseudotypes) we evaluated a glutamine to arginine mutation at position 223 (Q223R) and glycosylation at residue 276 in HA for their effects on infectivity and neutralization. Q223R emerged during propagation in eggs and lies in the receptor binding site. We found that the Q223R mutation greatly enhanced infectivity of HA-pseudotypes in human cells, which was further augmented by inclusion of the viral neuraminidase (NA) and M2 proteins. Loss of glycosylation at residue 276 did not alter infectivity. None of these modifications affected neutralization. These findings provide information for increasing 2009 H1N1HA-pseudotype titers without altering antigenicity and offer insights into receptor use.

The last influenza A pandemic provided an excellent opportunity to study the adaptation of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus to the human host. Particularly, due to the availability of sequences taken from isolates since the beginning of the pandemic until date, we could monitor amino acid changes that occurred in the hemagglutinin (HA) as the virus spread worldwide and became the dominant H1N1 strain. HA is crucial to viral infection because it binds to sialidated cell-receptors and mediates fusion of cell and viral membranes; because antibodies that bind to HA may block virus entry to the cell, this protein is subjected to high selective pressure. Multiple alignment analysis of sequences of the HA from isolates taken since 2009 to date allowed us to find amino acid changes that were positively selected as the pandemic progressed. We found nine changes that became prevalent: HA1 subunits D104N, K166Q, S188T, S206T, A259T, and K285E; and HA2 subunits E47K, S124N, and E172K. Most of these changes were located in areas involved in inter- and intrachain interactions, while only two (K166Q and S188T) were located in known antigenic sites. We conclude that selective pressure on HA was aimed to improve its functionality and hence virus fitness, rather than at avoidance of immune recognition.

Hemagglutinin is the major surface glycoprotein of influenza viruses. It participates in the initial steps of viral infection through receptor binding and membrane fusion events. The influenza pandemic of 2009 provided a unique scenario to study virus evolution. We performed molecular dynamics simulations with four hemagglutinin variants that appeared throughout the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. We found that variant 1 (S143G, S185T) likely arose to avoid immune recognition. Variant 2 (A134T), and variant 3 (D222E, P297S) had an increased binding affinity for the receptor. Finally, variant 4 (E374K) altered hemagglutinin stability in the vicinity of the fusion peptide. Variants 1 and 4 have become increasingly predominant, while variants 2 and 3 declined as the pandemic progressed. Our results show some of the different strategies that the influenza virus uses to adapt to the human host and provide an example of how selective pressure drives antigenic drift in viral proteins.