AUTHOR=Shen Min , Liu Chao , Xu Run , Ruan Zijing , Zhao Shiying , Zhang Huidong , Wang Wen , Huang Xinhe , Yang Li , Tang Yong , Yang Tai , Jia Xu 

TITLE=Predicting the Animal Susceptibility and Therapeutic Drugs to SARS-CoV-2 Based on Spike Glycoprotein Combined With ACE2

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.575012

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2020.575012

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Recently, a few animals have been frequently reported to have been diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Whether they are SARS-CoV-2 intermediate hosts is worthy of great attention. The interaction of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and its acceptor protein ACE2 is an important issue in determining viral host range and cross-species infection, however the binding capacity of Spike protein to ACE2 of different species is unknown. Here, we used the atomic structure model of SARS-CoV-2 and human ACE2 to assess the receptor utilization capacity of ACE2s in 10 animal species. Results showed that chimpanzees, domestic cats and cattle were more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2. Cats in particular, such as pet cats and stray cats, interact very closely with humans, implying the necessity to carefully evaluate the risk of cats during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, based on ACE2(cats)-SARS-CoV-2-RBD model, through high-throughput screening methods using a pool of 30,000 small molecules, eight compounds were selected for binding free energy calculations. The eight compounds can effectively interfere with the binding of ACE2 and Spike protein, especially Nelfinavir, providing drug candidates for the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Especially, cats could be a choice of animal model for screening antiviral drugs or vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2.