Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2016, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (9): 1643.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20160237

• Organic Chemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Construction of Isopeptide Bridge-tethered NHR-trimeric Coiled-coil in MERS-CoV Membrane Fusion Protein

ZHENG Xi, LIANG Guodong, WANG Chao*(), LIU Keliang*()   

  1. Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing 100850, China
  • Received:2016-04-13 Online:2016-09-10 Published:2016-08-26
  • Contact: WANG Chao,LIU Keliang E-mail:chaow301@gmail.com;keliangliu55@126.com
  • Supported by:
    † Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81373266, 81573266)

Abstract:

In Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-CoV) infection, the formation of a coiled-coil six-helical bundle(6-HB) between three C-terminal heptad repeats(CHRs) and an N-terminal heptad repeat(NHR) trimer of the MERS-CoV spike protein S2 subunit provided the energy necessary for virus-cell membrane fusion. Mimicry of the NHR-helical trimers in the MERS-CoV membrane fusion protein for the discovery of antiviral therapeutics hampered because of the strong aggregation properties of synthetic NHR-based peptides taken out of their parent protein structure. Herein, the article presents an efficient strategy to recapi-tulate MERS-CoV NHR α-helical trimers via combining the concepts of grafting the NHR-derived peptides onto an exogenous trimerization motif with stabilization of the trimeric oligomers through isopeptide bonds. The covalent bridge was introduced by an acyl transfer reaction between lysine and glutamic acid in specific amino acid sites with thio-easter modified. The designed isopeptide bridge-stabilized chimeric trimers has strong potential for the development potent MERS-CoV fusion inhibitors.

Key words: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Fusion protein, Peptide, Isopeptide bond

CLC Number: 

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