Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The viral replication of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and other picornaviruses primarily depends on the successful processing of a polyprotein precursor by the enzyme 3C protease (3Cpro) at specific sites. The crucial role of 3Cpro in viral replication and pathogenesis makes it a potential ta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sthitaprajna Sahoo, Hak-Kyo Lee, Donghyun Shin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321079
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850155081794584576
author Sthitaprajna Sahoo
Hak-Kyo Lee
Donghyun Shin
author_facet Sthitaprajna Sahoo
Hak-Kyo Lee
Donghyun Shin
author_sort Sthitaprajna Sahoo
collection DOAJ
description The viral replication of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and other picornaviruses primarily depends on the successful processing of a polyprotein precursor by the enzyme 3C protease (3Cpro) at specific sites. The crucial role of 3Cpro in viral replication and pathogenesis makes it a potential target for developing novel therapeutics against foot-and-mouth disease. The β-ribbon region (residues 138-150) containing the active site residues (C142) in 3Cpro is found to be conserved and contributes significantly to substrate specificity. Moreover, experimental reports suggest that mutations at position 142, particularly C142S and C142L, exhibit different functional activities. However, the intrinsic dynamics and conformational changes induced by active-site mutations of 3Cpro remain unclear, limiting the development of novel inhibitors of 3C protease. Accordingly, we carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with multiple replicates for both the WT and mutants of 3Cpro. The observed results suggest that the C142S mutant induces substantial structural transitions compared to the WT and C142L. In contrast, the essential dynamics of the mutants significantly varied from those of the WT 3Cpro. Moreover, cross-correlation analysis revealed a similar pattern of anti-correlation between the amino acid residues of the WT and C142L mutant complexes. Analysis of the betweenness centrality of the WT and the mutants from the residue interaction networks revealed common residues for intra-residual signal propagation. The results from our study suggest that the active site mutant C142S may induce conformational changes, which can cause the β-ribbon region to bend towards the catalytic pocket and inhibit the enzymatic activity. C142L substitution may also alter the β-ribbon region conformation, which may impact the substrate binding process during proteolysis, as reported in previous studies. These results can provide a better understanding of the conformational dynamic behavior of 3Cpro active-site mutants and may assist in developing potential inhibitors against foot-and-mouth disease.
format Article
id doaj-art-e9e579e043e240989a53b7bd39d0631c
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-e9e579e043e240989a53b7bd39d0631c2025-08-20T02:25:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01204e032107910.1371/journal.pone.0321079Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.Sthitaprajna SahooHak-Kyo LeeDonghyun ShinThe viral replication of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and other picornaviruses primarily depends on the successful processing of a polyprotein precursor by the enzyme 3C protease (3Cpro) at specific sites. The crucial role of 3Cpro in viral replication and pathogenesis makes it a potential target for developing novel therapeutics against foot-and-mouth disease. The β-ribbon region (residues 138-150) containing the active site residues (C142) in 3Cpro is found to be conserved and contributes significantly to substrate specificity. Moreover, experimental reports suggest that mutations at position 142, particularly C142S and C142L, exhibit different functional activities. However, the intrinsic dynamics and conformational changes induced by active-site mutations of 3Cpro remain unclear, limiting the development of novel inhibitors of 3C protease. Accordingly, we carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with multiple replicates for both the WT and mutants of 3Cpro. The observed results suggest that the C142S mutant induces substantial structural transitions compared to the WT and C142L. In contrast, the essential dynamics of the mutants significantly varied from those of the WT 3Cpro. Moreover, cross-correlation analysis revealed a similar pattern of anti-correlation between the amino acid residues of the WT and C142L mutant complexes. Analysis of the betweenness centrality of the WT and the mutants from the residue interaction networks revealed common residues for intra-residual signal propagation. The results from our study suggest that the active site mutant C142S may induce conformational changes, which can cause the β-ribbon region to bend towards the catalytic pocket and inhibit the enzymatic activity. C142L substitution may also alter the β-ribbon region conformation, which may impact the substrate binding process during proteolysis, as reported in previous studies. These results can provide a better understanding of the conformational dynamic behavior of 3Cpro active-site mutants and may assist in developing potential inhibitors against foot-and-mouth disease.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321079
spellingShingle Sthitaprajna Sahoo
Hak-Kyo Lee
Donghyun Shin
Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
PLoS ONE
title Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
title_full Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
title_fullStr Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
title_full_unstemmed Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
title_short Elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3C protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus.
title_sort elucidating the structural dynamics induced by active site mutations in 3c protease of foot and mouth disease virus
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321079
work_keys_str_mv AT sthitaprajnasahoo elucidatingthestructuraldynamicsinducedbyactivesitemutationsin3cproteaseoffootandmouthdiseasevirus
AT hakkyolee elucidatingthestructuraldynamicsinducedbyactivesitemutationsin3cproteaseoffootandmouthdiseasevirus
AT donghyunshin elucidatingthestructuraldynamicsinducedbyactivesitemutationsin3cproteaseoffootandmouthdiseasevirus