COVID-19 spike-host cell receptor GRP78 binding site prediction

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) mode of host cell recognition may help to fight the disease and save lives. The spike protein of coronaviruses is the main driving force for host cell recognition. METHODS: In this study, the COVID-19 spike binding site to the cell-surface receptor (Glucose Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78)) is predicted using combined molecular modeling docking and structural bioinformatics. The COVID-19 spike protein is modeled using its counterpart, the SARS spike. RESULTS: Sequence and structural alignments show that four regions, in addition to its cyclic nature have sequence and physicochemical similarities to the cyclic Pep42. Protein-protein docking was performed to test the four regions of the spike that fit tightly in the GRP78 Substrate Binding Domain β (SBDβ). The docking pose revealed the involvement of the SBDβ of GRP78 and the receptor-binding domain of the coronavirus spike protein in recognition of the host cell receptor. CONCLUSIONS: We reveal that the binding is more favorable between regions III (C391-C525) and IV (C480-C488) of the spike protein model and GRP78. Region IV is the main driving force for GRP78 binding with the predicted binding affinity of -9.8 kcal/mol. These nine residues can be used to develop therapeutics specific against COVID-19.