N-glycoproteomic profiling revealing novel coronavirus therapeutic targets potentially involved in Cepharanthine's intervention

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a serious threat to global health and the world economy. Antiviral therapies targeting coronavirus are urgently required. The Cepharanthine (CEP) is a traditional Chinese herbal extract. Our previous research revealed that CEP has a very potent anti-coronavirus effect, but its mechanism of action was not fully understood. To investigate the effect of novel coronavirus on protein glycosylation in infected cells and to further investigate the mechanism of action of CEP against coronavirus, a cellular model using coronavirus GX_P2V infection of Vero E6 cells was established. The effect of coronavirus GX_P2V on host cell protein glycosylation was investigated by N-glycoproteomic analysis, and the antagonistic effect of CEP on the abnormal protein glycosylation caused by coronavirus was analyzed. The results showed that GX_P2V could cause abnormal changes in protein glycosylation levels in host cells, while CEP could partially antagonize the abnormal protein glycosylation caused by GX_P2V. In addition, we also found that CEP could regulate the glycosylation level of coronavirus S protein. In conclusion, this article provides important ideas about the infection mechanism of novel coronaviruses, providing evidence for CEP as a promising therapeutic option for coronavirus infection.