Molecular interactions of the M and E integral membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2

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Abstract

Specific lipid-protein interactions are key for cellular processes, and even more so for the replication of pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives and cause the death of nearly three million people worldwide, as of this writing. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes the disease and has been at the center of scientific research over the past year. Most of the research on the virus is focused on key players during its initial attack and entry into the cellular host; namely the S protein, its glycan shield, and its interactions with the ACE2 receptors of human cells. As cases continue to raise around the globe, and new mutants are identified, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms of this virus during different stages of its life cycle. Here, we consider two integral membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2 known to be important for viral assembly and infectivity. We have used microsecond-long all-atom molecular dynamics to examine the lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of the membrane (M) and envelope (E) structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 in a complex membrane model. We contrast the two proposed protein complexes for each of these proteins, and quantify their effect on their local lipid environment. This ongoing work also aims to provide molecular-level understanding of the mechanisms of action of this virus to possibly aid in the design of novel treatments.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2021.04.29.442018: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    NIH rigor criteria are not applicable to paper type.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    We used KCl salt at 0.15 M concentration to neutralize the systems to run on the isobaric-isothermal ensemble on GROMACS simulation package,36 with the CHARMM36m force field.
    GROMACS
    suggested: (GROMACS, RRID:SCR_014565)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.


    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.


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