Lucidenic acid A inhibits the binding of hACE2 receptor with spike protein to prevent SARS-CoV-2 invasion.

Ganoderma lucidum

OncologyImmune supportMetabolic healthLiver support

SpeciesReishi, Lingzhi

JournalFood and chemical toxicology: an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Year2022

Key points

High infection caused by mutations of SARS-CoV-2 calls for new prevention strategy
Ganoderma lucidum known as a superior immunoenhancer exhibits various antiviral effects, whether it can resist SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear
Herein, virtual screening combined with in vitro hACE2 inhibition assays were used to investigate its anti SARS-CoV-2 effect
Potential 54 active components, 80 core targets and 20 crucial pathways were identified by the component-target-pathway network
Molecular dynamics simulation showed it had good binding stability with the receptor proteins
Finally, in vitro FRET test demonstrated it inhibited the hACE2 activity with IC50 2 μmol/mL. Therefore, lucidenic acid A can prevent the virus invasion by blocking hACE2 binding with SARS-CoV-2

Metadata-grounded summary

Citation abstract

High infection caused by mutations of SARS-CoV-2 calls for new prevention strategy. Ganoderma lucidum known as a superior immunoenhancer exhibits various antiviral effects, whether it can resist SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear. Herein, virtual screening combined with in vitro hACE2 inhibition assays were used to investigate its anti SARS-CoV-2 effect. Potential 54 active components, 80 core targets and 20 crucial pathways were identified by the component-target-pathway network. The binding characters of these components to hACE2 and its complexes with spike protein including omicron variant was analyzed by molecular docking. Lucidenic acid A was selected as the top molecule with high affinity to all receptors by forming hydrogen bonds. Molecular dynamics simulation showed it had good binding stability with the receptor proteins. Finally, in vitro FRET test demonstrated it inhibited the hACE2 activity with IC50 2 μmol/mL. Therefore, lucidenic acid A can prevent the virus invasion by blocking hACE2 binding with SARS-CoV-2.

Citation

Xu J, Yang W, Pan Y, Xu H, He L, Zheng B, et al. (2022). Lucidenic acid A inhibits the binding of hACE2 receptor with spike protein to prevent SARS-CoV-2 invasion. Food and chemical toxicology: an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2022.113438 PMID: 36179993

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