CoronaVirus Interaction Network to Establish Therapies

Viruses rely on interactions with cellular proteins in order to replicate, transmit efficiently and to cause disease. Our knowledge on interactions of coronavirus (CoV) proteins with cellular proteins is still very limited. This is particularly true for the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. However, such virus-host protein-protein information would not only be highly relevant to understand the biology of CoVs but also to establish intellectually designed therapies. Here we propose to join forces of two laboratories with expertise in CoV biology and viral - host protein interactions to chart the interface between coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and less pathogenic human CoVs) and the cellular proteome. This network of proteins will be complemented with information druggability of individual proteins in order to identify candidate proteins or drugs, which potentially modulate SARS-CoV-2 spread or pathology. We anticipate that this information will be of critical support for the current endeavour to establish therapies against Covid-19.