In Silico Study of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids as Potential SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Closed Conformation Stabilizers: Epidemiological and Computational Approaches
Alonso Vivar-Sierra,
María José Araiza-Macías,
José Patricio Hernández-Contreras,
Arely Vergara-Castañeda,
Gabriela Ramírez-Vélez,
Rodolfo Pinto-Almazán,
Juan Rodrigo Salazar,
Marco A. Loza-Mejía
Affiliations
Alonso Vivar-Sierra
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
María José Araiza-Macías
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
José Patricio Hernández-Contreras
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
Arely Vergara-Castañeda
Basic and Clinical Health Sciences Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
Gabriela Ramírez-Vélez
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
Rodolfo Pinto-Almazán
Molecular Biology in Metabolic and Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory, Research Unit, High Speciality Regional Hospital of Ixtapaluca (HRAEI), Carretera Federal México-Puebla Km 34.5, Ixtapaluca 56530, Mexico
Juan Rodrigo Salazar
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
Marco A. Loza-Mejía
Design, Isolation, and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules Research Group, Chemical Sciences School, Universidad La Salle-México, Benjamín Franklin 45, Mexico City 06140, Mexico
SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells by interacting its spike protein with surface angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, expressed in lung and other cell types. Although several risk factors could explain why some countries have lower incidence and fatality rates than others, environmental factors such as diet should be considered. It has been described that countries with high polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake have a lower number of COVID-19 victims and a higher rate of recovery from the disease. Moreover, it was found that linoleic acid, an omega-6 PUFA, could stabilize the spike protein in a closed conformation, blocking its interaction with ACE2. These facts prompted us to perform in silico simulations to determine if other PUFA could also stabilize the closed conformation of spike protein and potentially lead to a reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that: (a) countries whose source of omega-3 is from marine origin have lower fatality rates; and (b) like linoleic acid, omega-3 PUFA could also bind to the closed conformation of spike protein and therefore, could help reduce COVID-19 complications by reducing viral entrance to cells, in addition to their known anti-inflammatory effects.
