Evaluation of action of steroid molecules on SARS-CoV-2 by inhibiting NSP-15, an endoribonuclease.

Many countries in the world have recently experienced an outbreak of COVID-19, turned out to be a pandemic which significantly affected the world economy. Among many attempts to treat/control infection or to modulate host immunity, many small molecules including steroids were prescribed based on their use against other viral infection or inflammatory conditions. A recent report established the possibility of usage of a corticosteroid against the virus through inhibiting NSP-15; an mRNA endonuclease of SARS-CoV-2 and thereby viral replication.

Self-Assembly of Hausmannite MnO Triangular Structures on Cocosin Protein Scaffolds for High Energy Density Symmetric Supercapacitor Application.

Recent advances in using biological scaffolds for nanoparticle synthesis have proven to be useful for preparing various nanostructures with uniform shape and size. Proteins are significant scaffolds for generating various nanostructures partly because of the presence of many functional groups to recognize different chemistries. In this endeavor, cocosin protein, an 11S allergen, is prepared from coconut fruit and employed as a potential scaffold for synthesizing MnO materials.

Crystal structure of a novel Kunitz type inhibitor, alocasin with anti-Aedes aegypti activity targeting midgut proteases.

Background: The pesticidal properties of many Kunitz-type inhibitors have been reported previously; however, the mechanism of action is not well established. In this study, the activity of alocasin against Aedes aegypti is demonstrated and the structure-activity relationship of this Kunitz-type inhibitor is explained through X-ray structure analyses.

Results: Alocasin was purified from mature rhizomes of Alocasia as a single polypeptide chain of ∼ 20 kDa.

Dimeric rous sarcoma virus capsid protein structure relevant to immature Gag assembly.

The structure of the N-terminal domain (NTD) of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) capsid protein (CA), with an upstream 25 amino acid residue extension corresponding to the C-terminal portion of the Gag p10 protein, has been determined by X-ray crystallography. Purified Gag proteins of retroviruses can assemble in vitro into virus-like particles closely resembling in vivo-assembled immature virus particles, but without a membrane. When the 25 amino acid residues upstream of CA are deleted, Gag assembles into tubular particles.

Structural analyses of Phycodnaviridae and Iridoviridae.

The Phycodnaviridae, Iridoviridae and related viruses, with diameters of 1500-2000 A, are formed from large trigonal arrays of hexagonally close-packed capsomers forming the faces of icosahedra [Yan et al. (2000), Nature Struct. Biol.

The structure and evolution of the major capsid protein of a large, lipid-containing DNA virus.

Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus type 1 (PBCV-1) is a very large, icosahedral virus containing an internal membrane enclosed within a glycoprotein coat consisting of pseudohexagonal arrays of trimeric capsomers. Each capsomer is composed of three molecules of the major capsid protein, Vp54, the 2.0-A resolution structure of which is reported here.