LPD-12: a promising lipopeptide to control COVID-19

Introduction: : The recent pandemic outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with a lethal atypical pneumonia, making COVID-19 an urgent public health issue with an increasing rate of mortality and morbidity. There are currently no vaccines or therapeutics available for COVID-19, which is causing an urgent search for a new drug to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The lipid membrane alternation efficiency of small antimicrobial lipopeptides enables them to block viral membrane fusion to the host cell. Lipopeptides could serve as potential antiviral agents, by interacting or competing with viral fusion proteins. Methods: : This study screened seven different lipopeptides (tsushimycin, daptomycin, surfactin, bacillomycin, iturin, srfTE, and LPD-12) and docked them individually against the spike (S)-glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Results: : Based on the maximum docked score and minimum atomic contact energy, LPD-12 (-1137.38 kcal) was the appropriate molecule for proper binding with the S-glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 and thus significantly interrupted its affinity of binding with angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), which is the only receptor molecule found to be facilitating disease development. The results confirmed a strong binding affinity of LPD-12 with ACE2, with a binding free energy of -1621.62 kcal, which could also reciprocally prevent the binding of S-protein. Conclustion: : It can be concluded that LPD-12 may act as a potential therapeutic drug, by reducing the entry of SARS-CoV-2 to the human cells via the ACE2 receptor and related infections. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has caused a deadly atypical pneumonia, making COVID-19 an urgent public health issue. This study screened seven different lipopeptides and found that LPD-12 showed the most promising results in disrupting the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with ACE2 receptor, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic drug for COVID-19.