Dataset Information

Rapid incorporation of Favipiravir by the fast and permissive viral RNA polymerase complex results in SARS-CoV-2 lethal mutagenesis.

ABSTRACT: The ongoing Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emphasized the urgent need for antiviral therapeutics. The viral RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) is a promising target with polymerase inhibitors successfully used for the treatment of several viral diseases. We demonstrate here that Favipiravir predominantly exerts an antiviral effect through lethal mutagenesis. The SARS-CoV RdRp complex is at least 10-fold more active than any other viral RdRp known. It possesses both unusually high nucleotide incorporation rates and high-error rates allowing facile insertion of Favipiravir into viral RNA, provoking C-to-U and G-to-A transitions in the already low cytosine content SARS-CoV-2 genome. The coronavirus RdRp complex represents an Achilles heel for SARS-CoV, supporting nucleoside analogues as promising candidates for the treatment of COVID-19.

SUBMITTER: Shannon A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7499305 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Rapid incorporation of Favipiravir by the fast and permissive viral RNA polymerase complex results in SARS-CoV-2 lethal mutagenesis.

Shannon Ashleigh A Selisko Barbara B Le Nhung-Thi-Tuyet NT Huchting Johanna J Touret Franck F Piorkowski Géraldine G Fattorini Véronique V Ferron François F Decroly Etienne E Meier Chris C Coutard Bruno B Peersen Olve O Canard Bruno B

Nature communications 20200917 1

The ongoing Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emphasized the urgent need for antiviral therapeutics. The viral RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) is a promising target with polymerase inhibitors successfully used for the treatment of several viral diseases. We demonstrate here that Favipiravir predominantly exerts an antiviral effect through lethal mutagenesis. The SARS-CoV RdRp complex is at least 10-fold ...[more]

PMID: 32943628

Similar Datasets

Project description:Viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps) are major determinants of high mutation rates and generation of mutant spectra that mediate RNA virus adaptability. The RdRp of the picornavirus foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), termed 3D, is a multifunctional protein that includes a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in its N-terminal region. Previous studies documented that some amino acid substitutions within the NLS altered nucleotide recognition and enhanced the incorporation of the mutagenic purine analogue ribavirin in viral RNA, but the mutants tested were not viable and their response to lethal mutagenesis could not be studied. Here we demonstrate that NLS amino acid substitution M16A of FMDV serotype C does not affect infectious virus production but accelerates ribavirin-mediated virus extinction. The mutant 3D displays polymerase activity, RNA binding, and copying processivity that are similar to those of the wild-type enzyme but shows increased ribavirin-triphosphate incorporation. Crystal structures of the mutant 3D in the apo and RNA-bound forms reveal an expansion of the template entry channel due to the replacement of the bulky Met by Ala. This is a major difference with other 3D mutants with altered nucleotide analogue recognition. Remarkably, two distinct loop ?9-?11 conformations distinguish 3Ds that exhibit higher or lower ribavirin incorporation than the wild-type enzyme. This difference identifies a specific molecular determinant of ribavirin sensitivity of FMDV. Comparison of several polymerase mutants indicates that different domains of the molecule can modify nucleotide recognition and response to lethal mutagenesis. The connection of this observation with current views on quasispecies adaptability is discussed.IMPORTANCE The nuclear localization signal (NLS) of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) polymerase includes residues that modulate the sensitivity to mutagenic agents. Here we have described a viable NLS mutant with an amino acid replacement that facilitates virus extinction by ribavirin. The corresponding polymerase shows increased incorporation of ribavirin triphosphate and local structural modifications that implicate the template entry channel. Specifically, comparison of the structures of ribavirin-sensitive and ribavirin-resistant FMDV polymerases has identified loop ?9-?11 conformation as a determinant of sensitivity to ribavirin mutagenesis.

Dataset Information

Rapid incorporation of Favipiravir by the fast and permissive viral RNA polymerase complex results in SARS-CoV-2 lethal mutagenesis.

Publications

Rapid incorporation of Favipiravir by the fast and permissive viral RNA polymerase complex results in SARS-CoV-2 lethal mutagenesis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets