Computational Study on the Function of Palmitoylation on the Envelope Protein in SARS-CoV-2

J Chem Theory Comput. 2021 Oct 12;17(10):6483-6490. doi: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00359. Epub 2021 Sep 13.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 that caused COVID-19 has spread since the end of 2019. Its major effects resulted in over four million deaths around the whole world by August 2021. Therefore, understanding virulence mechanisms is important to prevent future outbreaks and for COVID-19 drug development. The envelope (E) protein is an important structural protein, affecting virus assembly and budding. The E protein pentamer is a viroporin, serving as an ion transferring channel in cells. In this work, we applied molecular dynamic simulations and topological and electrostatic analyses to study the effects of palmitoylation on the E protein pentamer. The results indicate that the cation transferring direction is more from the lumen to the cytosol. The structure of the palmitoylated E protein pentamer is more stable while the loss of palmitoylation caused the pore radius to reduce and even collapse. The electrostatic forces on the two sides of the palmitoylated E protein pentamer are more beneficial to attract cations in the lumen and to release cations into the cytosol. The results indicate the importance of palmitoylation, which can help the drug design for the treatment of COVID-19.

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / chemistry
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
  • Cations / chemistry
  • Computational Biology
  • Coronavirus Envelope Proteins / chemistry*
  • Cytosol / chemistry
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Lipoylation*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Molecular Structure
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Protons
  • Static Electricity

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Cations
  • Coronavirus Envelope Proteins
  • Protons
  • envelope protein, SARS-CoV-2