Abstract
There is increasing evidence that ACE2 gene polymorphism can modulate the interaction between ACE2 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein affecting the viral entry into the host cell, and/or contribute to lung and systemic damage in COVID-19. Here we used in silico molecular docking to predict the effects of ACE2 missense variants on the interaction with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. HDOCK and FireDock simulations identified 6 ACE2 missense variants (I21T, A25T, K26R, E37K, T55A, E75G) with higher affinity for SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) with respect to wild type ACE2, and 11 variants (I21V, E23K, K26E, T27A, E35K, S43R, Y50F, N51D, N58H, K68E, M82I) with lower affinity. This result supports the hypothesis that ACE2 genetic background may represent the first “genetic gateway” during the disease progression.
Keywords: ACE2 polymorphism; COVID-19; In silico modeling; SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein; SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness; SARS-CoV-2 severity of infection.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness, ACE2 polymorphism, In silico modeling, SARS-CoV-2 severity of infection., 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, ACE2, spike, variant, polymorphism, molecular docking, lung, progression, in silico, viral entry, Spike protein, Receptor binding domain, Disease progression, Protein, Viral, RBD, infectiousness, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, wild type, predict, Evidence, Interaction, Hypothesis, ACE2 gene, host cell, Support, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain, Severity of infection, higher affinity, genetic background, missense variant, E35K, systemic damage, Effect, the disease, contribute, the spike protein, modulate, affecting, the SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 ACE2, spike, polymorphism, docking, Protein, reveal, the SARS-CoV-2,