TY - JOUR T1 - Structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and predictions of the human interactome JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2020.03.28.013789 SP - 2020.03.28.013789 AU - Andrea Vandelli AU - Michele Monti AU - Edoardo Milanetti AU - Jakob Rupert AU - Elsa Zacco AU - Elias Bechara AU - Riccardo Delli Ponti AU - Gian Gaetano Tartaglia Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/04/29/2020.03.28.013789.abstract N2 - Specific elements of viral genomes regulate interactions within host cells. Here, we calculated the secondary structure content of >2500 coronaviruses and computed >100000 human protein interactions with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We found that the 3’ and 5’ are the most structured elements in the viral genome and the 5’ has the strongest propensity to associate with human proteins. The domain encompassing nucleotides 23000 – 24000 is highly conserved both at the sequence and structural level, while the region upstream varies significantly. These two sequences code for a domain of the viral protein Spike S that interacts with the human receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and has the potential to bind sialic acids. Our predictions indicate that the first 1000 nucleotides in the 5’ can interact with proteins involved in viral RNA processing such as double-stranded RNA specific editases and ATP-dependent RNA-helicases, in addition to other high-confidence candidate partners. These interactions, previously reported to be also implicated in HIV, reveal important information on hostvirus interactions. The list of transcriptional and post-transcriptional elements recruited by SARS-CoV-2 genome provides clues on the biological pathways associated with gene expression changes in human cells.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -