The potential antiviral effect of major royal jelly protein2 and its isoform X1 against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Insight on their sialidase activity and molecular docking

• Published in: Journal of functional foods 2020-12, Vol.75, p.104282-104282, Article 104282
• Main Authors: Habashy, Noha H., Abu-Serie, Marwa M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: In-silico analysis; Major royal-jelly protein (MRJP) 2; MRJP2 isoform X1; SARS-CoV-2; Sialidase
• ISSN: 1756-4646; 2214-9414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jff.2020.104282

[Display omitted] •Major royal jelly protein 2 and its isoform X1 are two predicted inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2.•Major royal jelly protein 2 and its isoform X1 have sialidase activity.•Major royal jelly protein 2 and its isoform X1 might inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication.•Major royal jelly protein 2 and its isoform X1 might inhibit SARS-CoV-2-induced hypoxia. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 is a newly emerging type of CoV. We evaluated the predicted anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect of major royal jelly protein (MRJP)2 and MRJP2 isoform X1, which recently showed high efficacy against other enveloped RNA-viruses (HCV and HIV). Some in-silico analyses have been performed to predict the impact of these proteins on viral entry, replication, and complications. These proteins have shown a high potency in sialic acid hydrolysis from the lung cells (WI-38) surface. Docking analysis showed that these proteins have a high binding affinity to viral receptor-binding sites in the receptor-binding domain, causing attachment prevention. Moreover, MRJPs can exert an inhibitory influence, via different mechanisms, for SARS-CoV-2 non-structural proteins (main and papain proteases, RNA replicase, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and methyltransferase). Also, they can bind to hemoglobin-binding sites on viral-nsps and prevent their hemoglobin attack. Thus, MRJP2 and MRJP2 X1 can be a promising therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection.