Open AccessEvolutionary and Structural Insights about Potential SARS-CoV-2 Evasion of Nirmatrelvir
Author(s) -
Kun Yang,
Sunshine Z. Leeuwon,
Shiqing Xu,
Wenshe Ray Liu
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of medicinal chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.01
H-Index - 261
eISSN - 1520-4804
pISSN - 0022-2623
DOI - 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00404
Subject(s) - chemistry , evasion (ethics) , covid-19 , computational biology , virology , genetics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology , immune system , disease , pathology , medicine , outbreak
The U.S. FDA approval of PAXLOVID, a combination therapy of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir has significantly boosted our morale in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Nirmatrelvir is an inhibitor of the main protease (M Pro ) of SARS-CoV-2. Since many SARS-CoV-2 variants that resist vaccines and antibodies have emerged, a concern of acquired viral resistance to nirmatrelvir naturally arises. Here, possible mutations in M Pro to confer viral evasion of nirmatrelvir are analyzed and discussed from both evolutionary and structural standpoints. The analysis indicates that those mutations will likely reside in the whole aa45-51 helical region and residues including M165, L167, P168, R188, and Q189. Relevant mutations have also been observed in existing SARS-CoV-2 samples. Implications of this analysis to the fight against future drug-resistant viral variants and the development of broad-spectrum antivirals are discussed as well.