The Open Enzyme Inhibition Journal




(Discontinued)

ISSN: 1874-9402 ― Volume 5, 2020
EDITORIAL

Coronavirus and Enzymes: What the Past Told us?



Hortense Ferriz1, René Buchet1, *
1 Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, ICBMS UMR 5246 - Université Lyon 1 - CNRS - INSA Lyon - CPE Lyon, 43 Boulevard, 69 622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France


Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2020
Volume: 5
First Page: 1
Last Page: 1
Publisher Id: TOEIJ-5-1
DOI: 10.2174/0218749402005010001

Article History:

Electronic publication date: 03/04/2020
Collection year: 2020

© 2020 Ferriz and Buchet.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Correspondence: Address correspondence to this author at the ICBMS UMR5346, Université Lyon 1, 43 Bd 11 Novembre 1918, Villeurbanne, France; Tel: 33 4 27 46 57 21; E-mail: rbuchet@univ-lyon1.fr





Novelty always frightens, provoking overreactions. On the other hand, the strategy of viral infection, including that of coronavirus (COVID-19), originates from ancient times and can be summarized, as 1) entry into host cells, 2) interfering with host genetic program to duplicate virus entity; 3) infection into surrounding cells. These are the strengths of the viruses but also their weaknesses since it identifies possible targets to prevent infection. At each step of viral infection, viral enzymatic reactions are observed, which may be similar to those occurring in another closely related family of viruses. COVID-19 is related with 88% to two bat-derived severe acute respiratory syndromes (SARS)-like coronaviruses (bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21, collected in 2018 in Zhoushan, eastern China), SARS-CoV (about 79%) and MERS-CoV (about 50%) [1Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, et al. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: Implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet 2020; 395(10224): 565-74.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30251-8] [PMID: 32007145]
]. The penetration of the COVID-19, similar to that of SARS-CoV, into the infected cells is triggered by the interaction of a protein on the surface of the virus with a receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the infected cells [2Li R, Qiao S, Zhang G. Analysis of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) from different species sheds some light on cross-species receptor usage of a novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. J Infect 2020; 80(4): 469-96.]. Preventing interaction between the viral protein on its surface and the cell receptor, using a soluble version of the viral receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fused to an immunoglobulin Fc domain, is a proposed plan to prevent coronavirus infection [3Kruse RL. Therapeutic strategies in an outbreak scenario to treat the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] F1000Researc 2020; 9:72.]. This modified ACE2 will selectively interact with the viral protein and not with the cell, protecting physiological function of ACE2 [3Kruse RL. Therapeutic strategies in an outbreak scenario to treat the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] F1000Researc 2020; 9:72.]. Several viral enzymes are possible targets to design drugs for stopping viral infections. Once the virus penetrates into the host cell, it interferes with the genetic program. Possible target is the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases to avoid viral duplication. Remdesivir, a nucleotide analog, can inhibit the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and had broad spectrum of antiviral activities against several RNA viruses including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV [4Gordon CJ, Tchesnokov EP, Feng JY, Porter DP, Gotte M. The antiviral compound remdesivir potently inhibits RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. J Biol Chem 2020; pii: jbc.AC120.013056.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.AC120.013056]
], stimulating hope that Remdesivir treatment could be also effective to treat patients with COVID-19. Additional viral enzymes such as integrases and proteases, which are active during other steps of viral life cycle, can be targeted for developing drugs to disrupt viral life cycle. For example, the viral protease stimulates an active infectious virion after budding from the infected cell. The protease inhibition causes improper viral protein maturation, decreasing viral infection. Based on the successful curative properties of ritonavir (an aspartyl protease inhibitor of HIV) against HIV, combination therapy with ritonavir and lopinavir was initiated to a 47-year-old man with COVID-19, leading to quick improvement of clinical symptoms [5Han W, Quan B, Guo Y, et al. The course of clinical diagnosis and treatment of a case infected with coronavirus disease 2019. J Med Virol 2020; 92(5): 461-3.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25711] [PMID: 32073161]
]. To conclude, viral enzymes are adequate targets to treat viral diseases due to their specific actions during different steps of viral infection. This is one possible way for the development of alternate drug therapies other than vaccines. Efficient treatments based on inhibitors of viral enzymes against past viruses could be effective against new closely related viruses.

REFERENCES

[1] Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, et al. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: Implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet 2020; 395(10224): 565-74.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30251-8] [PMID: 32007145]
[2] Li R, Qiao S, Zhang G. Analysis of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) from different species sheds some light on cross-species receptor usage of a novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. J Infect 2020; 80(4): 469-96.
[3] Kruse RL. Therapeutic strategies in an outbreak scenario to treat the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] F1000Researc 2020; 9:72.
[4] Gordon CJ, Tchesnokov EP, Feng JY, Porter DP, Gotte M. The antiviral compound remdesivir potently inhibits RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. J Biol Chem 2020; pii: jbc.AC120.013056.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.AC120.013056]
[5] Han W, Quan B, Guo Y, et al. The course of clinical diagnosis and treatment of a case infected with coronavirus disease 2019. J Med Virol 2020; 92(5): 461-3.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25711] [PMID: 32073161]
Track Your Manuscript:


Endorsements



"Open access will revolutionize 21st century knowledge work and accelerate the diffusion of ideas and evidence that support just in time learning and the evolution of thinking in a number of disciplines."


Daniel Pesut
(Indiana University School of Nursing, USA)

"It is important that students and researchers from all over the world can have easy access to relevant, high-standard and timely scientific information. This is exactly what Open Access Journals provide and this is the reason why I support this endeavor."


Jacques Descotes
(Centre Antipoison-Centre de Pharmacovigilance, France)

"Publishing research articles is the key for future scientific progress. Open Access publishing is therefore of utmost importance for wider dissemination of information, and will help serving the best interest of the scientific community."


Patrice Talaga
(UCB S.A., Belgium)

"Open access journals are a novel concept in the medical literature. They offer accessible information to a wide variety of individuals, including physicians, medical students, clinical investigators, and the general public. They are an outstanding source of medical and scientific information."


Jeffrey M. Weinberg
(St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, USA)

"Open access journals are extremely useful for graduate students, investigators and all other interested persons to read important scientific articles and subscribe scientific journals. Indeed, the research articles span a wide range of area and of high quality. This is specially a must for researchers belonging to institutions with limited library facility and funding to subscribe scientific journals."


Debomoy K. Lahiri
(Indiana University School of Medicine, USA)

"Open access journals represent a major break-through in publishing. They provide easy access to the latest research on a wide variety of issues. Relevant and timely articles are made available in a fraction of the time taken by more conventional publishers. Articles are of uniformly high quality and written by the world's leading authorities."


Robert Looney
(Naval Postgraduate School, USA)

"Open access journals have transformed the way scientific data is published and disseminated: particularly, whilst ensuring a high quality standard and transparency in the editorial process, they have increased the access to the scientific literature by those researchers that have limited library support or that are working on small budgets."


Richard Reithinger
(Westat, USA)

"Not only do open access journals greatly improve the access to high quality information for scientists in the developing world, it also provides extra exposure for our papers."


J. Ferwerda
(University of Oxford, UK)

"Open Access 'Chemistry' Journals allow the dissemination of knowledge at your finger tips without paying for the scientific content."


Sean L. Kitson
(Almac Sciences, Northern Ireland)

"In principle, all scientific journals should have open access, as should be science itself. Open access journals are very helpful for students, researchers and the general public including people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals. The articles are high standard and cover a wide area."


Hubert Wolterbeek
(Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)

"The widest possible diffusion of information is critical for the advancement of science. In this perspective, open access journals are instrumental in fostering researches and achievements."


Alessandro Laviano
(Sapienza - University of Rome, Italy)

"Open access journals are very useful for all scientists as they can have quick information in the different fields of science."


Philippe Hernigou
(Paris University, France)

"There are many scientists who can not afford the rather expensive subscriptions to scientific journals. Open access journals offer a good alternative for free access to good quality scientific information."


Fidel Toldrá
(Instituto de Agroquimica y Tecnologia de Alimentos, Spain)

"Open access journals have become a fundamental tool for students, researchers, patients and the general public. Many people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals benefit of them on a daily basis. The articles are among the best and cover most scientific areas."


M. Bendandi
(University Clinic of Navarre, Spain)

"These journals provide researchers with a platform for rapid, open access scientific communication. The articles are of high quality and broad scope."


Peter Chiba
(University of Vienna, Austria)

"Open access journals are probably one of the most important contributions to promote and diffuse science worldwide."


Jaime Sampaio
(University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal)

"Open access journals make up a new and rather revolutionary way to scientific publication. This option opens several quite interesting possibilities to disseminate openly and freely new knowledge and even to facilitate interpersonal communication among scientists."


Eduardo A. Castro
(INIFTA, Argentina)

"Open access journals are freely available online throughout the world, for you to read, download, copy, distribute, and use. The articles published in the open access journals are high quality and cover a wide range of fields."


Kenji Hashimoto
(Chiba University, Japan)

"Open Access journals offer an innovative and efficient way of publication for academics and professionals in a wide range of disciplines. The papers published are of high quality after rigorous peer review and they are Indexed in: major international databases. I read Open Access journals to keep abreast of the recent development in my field of study."


Daniel Shek
(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

"It is a modern trend for publishers to establish open access journals. Researchers, faculty members, and students will be greatly benefited by the new journals of Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. in this category."


Jih Ru Hwu
(National Central University, Taiwan)


Browse Contents



Table of Contents


Webmaster Contact: info@benthamopen.net
Copyright © 2023 Bentham Open