Comparative host-coronavirus protein interaction networks reveal pan-viral disease mechanisms

INTRODUCTION The emergence of three lethal coronaviruses in <20 years and the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted efforts to develop new therapeutic strategies, including by repurposing existing agents. After performing a comparative analysis of the three pathogenic human coronaviruses severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), SARS-CoV-2, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), we identified shared biology and host-directed drug targets to prioritize therapeutics with potential for rapid deployment against current and future coronavirus outbreaks. RATIONALE Expanding on our recent SARS-CoV-2 interactome, we mapped the virus-host protein-protein interactions for SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV and assessed the cellular localization of each viral protein across the three strains. We conducted two genetic screens of SARS-CoV-2 interactors to prioritize functionally-relevant host factors and structurally characterized one virus-host interaction. We then tested the clinical relevance of three more host factors by assessing risk in genetic cohorts or observing effectiveness of host factor–targeting drugs in real-world evidence. RESULTS Quantitative comparison of the 389 interactors of SARS-CoV-2, 366 of SARS-CoV-1, and 296 of MERS-CoV highlighted interactions with host processes that are conserved across all three viruses, including where nonorthologous proteins from different virus strains seem to fill similar roles. We also localized each individually-expressed viral protein by microscopy and then raised and validated antisera against 14 SARS-CoV-2 proteins to determine their localization during infection. On the basis of two independent genetic perturbation screens, we identified 73 host factors that, when depleted, caused significant changes in SARS-CoV-2 replication. From this list of potential drug targets, we validated the biological and clinical relevance of Tom70, IL17RA, PGES-2, and SigmaR1. A 3-Å cryo–electron microscopy structure of Tom70, a mitochondrial import receptor, in complex with SARS-CoV-2 ORF9b, provides insight into how ORF9b may modulate the host immune response. Using curated genome-wide association study data, we found that individuals with genotypes corresponding to higher soluble IL17RA levels in plasma are at decreased risk of COVID-19 hospitalization. To demonstrate the value of our data for drug repurposing, we identified SARS-CoV-2 patients who were prescribed drugs against prioritized targets and asked how they fared compared with carefully matched patients treated with clinically similar drugs that do not inhibit SARS-CoV-2. Both indomethacin, an inhibitor of host factor PGES-2, and typical antipsychotics, selected for their interaction with sigma receptors, showed effectiveness against COVID-19 compared with celecoxib and atypical antipsychotics, respectively. CONCLUSION By employing an integrative and collaborative approach, we identified conserved mechanisms across three pathogenic coronavirus strains and further investigated potential drug targets. This versatile approach is broadly applicable to other infectious agents and disease areas.Jennifer Meadows, Michael Dong, Ola Wallerman, Vikki Marinescu & Kerstin Lindblad-Toh ingår i gruppen Zoonomia Consortium