Constrained peptides have proven to be a rich source of ligands for protein surfaces, but are often limited in their binding potency. Deployment of nonnatural side chains that access unoccupied crevices on the receptor surface offers a potential avenue to enhance binding affinity. We recently described a computational approach to create topographic maps of protein surfaces to guide the design of nonnatural side chains [ , , 15560].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which in humans leads to the disease COVID-19, has caused global disruption and more than 2 million fatalities since it first emerged in late 2019. As we write, infection rates are at their highest point globally and are rising extremely rapidly in some areas due to more infectious variants. The primary target of SARS-CoV-2 is the cellular receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which in humans leads to the disease COVID-19, has caused global disruption and more than 1.5 million fatalities since it first emerged in late 2019. As we write, infection rates are currently at their highest point globally and are rising extremely rapidly in some areas due to more infectious variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has caused over a million human deaths and massive global disruption. The viral infection may also represent a threat to our closest living relatives, nonhuman primates. The contact surface of the host cell receptor, ACE2, displays amino acid residues that are critical for virus recognition, and variations at these critical residues modulate infection susceptibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which in humans is highly infectious and leads to the potentially fatal disease COVID-19, has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and huge global disruption. The viral infection may also represent an existential threat to our closest living relatives, the nonhuman primates, many of which are endangered and often reduced to small populations. The virus engages the host cell receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), through the receptor binding domain (RBD) on the spike protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF