Novel covalent and non-covalent complex-based pharmacophore models of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) elucidated by microsecond MD simulations

As the world enters its second year of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, intense efforts have been directed to develop an effective diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies. One promising drug target to design COVID-19 treatments is the SARS-CoV-2 M-pro. To date, a comparative understanding of M-pro dynamic stereoelectronic interactions with either covalent or non-covalent inhibitors (depending on their interaction with a pocket called S1' or oxyanion hole) has not been still achieved. In this study, we seek to fill this knowledge gap using a cascade in silico protocol of docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM/PBSA in order to elucidate pharmacophore models for both types of inhibitors. After docking and MD analysis, a set of complex-based pharmacophore models was elucidated for covalent and non-covalent categories making use of the residue bonding point feature. The highest ranked models exhibited ROC-AUC values of 0.93 and 0.73, respectively for each category. Interestingly, we observed that the active site region of M-pro protein-ligand complex undergoes large conformational changes, especially within the S2 and S4 subsites. The results reported in this article may be helpful in virtual screening (VS) campaigns to guide the design and discovery of novel small-molecule therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2 M-pro protein.