ABSTRACT
Inorganic polyphosphates (polyPs) are linear polymers composed of repeated phosphate (PO4 3-) units linked together by multiple high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds. In addition to being a source of energy, polyPs have cytoprotective and antiviral activities. Here, we investigated the antiviral activities of long-chain polyPs against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In molecular docking analyses, polyPs interacted with several conserved amino acid residues in angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the host receptor that facilitates virus entry, and in viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). ELISA and limited proteolysis assays using nano- LC-MS/MS mapped polyP120 binding to ACE2, and site-directed mutagenesis confirmed interactions between ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and identified the specific amino acid residues involved. PolyP120 enhanced the proteasomal degradation of both ACE2 and RdRp, thus impairing replication of the British B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant. We thus tested polyPs for functional interactions with the virus in SARS-CoV-2-infected Vero E6 and Caco2 cells and in primary human nasal epithelial cells. Delivery of a nebulized form of polyP120 reduced the amounts of viral positive-sense genomic and subgenomic RNAs, of RNA transcripts encoding proinflammatory cytokines, and of viral structural proteins, thereby presenting SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells in vitro.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Polyphosphates/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , Administration, Inhalation , Amino Acid Sequence , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism , Animals , Antiviral Agents/administration & dosage , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , COVID-19/metabolism , COVID-19/virology , Caco-2 Cells , Chlorocebus aethiops , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/chemistry , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/genetics , Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase/metabolism , Cytokines/metabolism , HEK293 Cells , Host Microbial Interactions/drug effects , Host Microbial Interactions/genetics , Host Microbial Interactions/physiology , Humans , In Vitro Techniques , Models, Biological , Molecular Docking Simulation , Nebulizers and Vaporizers , Polyphosphates/administration & dosage , Polyphosphates/chemistry , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , Proteolysis/drug effects , RNA, Viral/genetics , RNA, Viral/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , Signal Transduction/drug effects , Vero Cells , Virus Replication/drug effectsABSTRACT
Seoul National University (SNU) miniature pigs are originated from the Minnesota miniature pig. This study was conducted to investigate the maternal origin of SNU (Minnesota) miniature pigs and their phylogenetic relationships by analyzing the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop (control region) sequence. Two mtDNA D-loop sequences of the SNU miniature pigs were identified. On an unweighted pair-group method with an arithmetic mean (UPGMA) phylogenetic tree analysis, the large white was the pig breed closest to the SNU miniature pig, and the pairwise distance analysis showed the same result. While mtDNA sequences of 4 pig breeds which were used to establish Minnesota miniature pig were not known, our result might be different from the history of the Minnesota miniature pig development. In conclusion, we thought that some haplotypes of the Minnesota miniature pig maternally were originated from the Large white pig, or that wild pigs had similar mtDNA sequences to the Large white pig, and all SNU miniature pigs were derived from this colony.
