From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations. The emergence of such variants has resulted in multiple pandemic waves, contributing to sustaining to date the number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths despite the swift dev...

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Main Authors: Matteo Pavan, Davide Bassani, Mattia Sturlese, Stefano Moro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2022-12-01
Series:Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14756366.2022.2081847
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author Matteo Pavan
Davide Bassani
Mattia Sturlese
Stefano Moro
author_facet Matteo Pavan
Davide Bassani
Mattia Sturlese
Stefano Moro
author_sort Matteo Pavan
collection DOAJ
description Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations. The emergence of such variants has resulted in multiple pandemic waves, contributing to sustaining to date the number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths despite the swift development of vaccines, since most of these mutations are concentrated on the Spike protein, a viral surface glycoprotein that is the main target for most vaccines. A milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been represented by the development of Paxlovid, the first orally available drug against COVID-19, which acts on the Main Protease (Mpro). In this article, we analyse the structural features of both the Spike protein and the Mpro of the recently reported SARS-CoV-2 variant XE, as well the closely related XD and XF ones, discussing their impact on the efficacy of existing treatments against COVID-19 and on the development of future ones.
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spelling doaj-art-688d4cd1fe3b4abfb29fdb91506ecf7b2025-08-20T03:22:26ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry1475-63661475-63742022-12-013711704171410.1080/14756366.2022.2081847From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?Matteo Pavan0Davide Bassani1Mattia Sturlese2Stefano Moro3Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyMolecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyMolecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyMolecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, ItalySince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations. The emergence of such variants has resulted in multiple pandemic waves, contributing to sustaining to date the number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths despite the swift development of vaccines, since most of these mutations are concentrated on the Spike protein, a viral surface glycoprotein that is the main target for most vaccines. A milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been represented by the development of Paxlovid, the first orally available drug against COVID-19, which acts on the Main Protease (Mpro). In this article, we analyse the structural features of both the Spike protein and the Mpro of the recently reported SARS-CoV-2 variant XE, as well the closely related XD and XF ones, discussing their impact on the efficacy of existing treatments against COVID-19 and on the development of future ones.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14756366.2022.2081847SARS-CoV-2COVID-19XE variantXD variantSpike proteinMpro
spellingShingle Matteo Pavan
Davide Bassani
Mattia Sturlese
Stefano Moro
From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
XE variant
XD variant
Spike protein
Mpro
title From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
title_full From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
title_fullStr From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
title_full_unstemmed From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
title_short From the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain to the XD and XE variants: is targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against COVID-19?
title_sort from the wuhan hu 1 strain to the xd and xe variants is targeting the sars cov 2 spike protein still a pharmaceutically relevant option against covid 19
topic SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
XE variant
XD variant
Spike protein
Mpro
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14756366.2022.2081847
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