Open AccessTargeting SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein 15 endoribonuclease: anin silicoperspective
Author(s) -
Shafi Mahmud,
Abdo A. Elfiky,
Al Amin,
Sumon Chandro Mohanto,
Ekhtiar Rahman,
Uzzal Kumar Acharjee,
Abu Saleh
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
future virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1746-0808
pISSN - 1746-0794
DOI - 10.2217/fvl-2020-0233
Subject(s) - saquinavir , in silico , virology , docking (animal) , endoribonuclease , covid-19 , pharmacology , computational biology , chemistry , biology , virus , medicine , biochemistry , rna , gene , nursing , disease , pathology , viral load , antiretroviral therapy , infectious disease (medical specialty) , rnase p
The newly emerged human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, had begun to spread last year and sparked worldwide. In this study, molecular docking is utilized to test some previously approved drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein 15 (Nsp15). We screened 23 drugs, from which three (saquinavir, valrubicin and aprepitant) show a paramount predicted binding affinity (-9.1, -9.6 and -9.2 kcal/mol, respectively) against SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15. Moreover, saquinavir and aprepitant make nonbonded interactions with Leu201 in the active site cavity of Nsp15, while the drug valrubicin interacts with Arg199 and Leu201. This binding pattern may be effective against the targeted protein, leading to Nsp15 blockage and virus abolition. Additionally, the pharmacological properties of the screened drugs are known since they have been approved against different viruses.