In Silico Designing of Antimicrobial Peptide Cocktail Drug Against SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 Replisome Complex

SARS-CoV-2 has become a pandemic which underscores the requirement of a therapeutic agent against the virus. In this study, we have tried to use the human antimicrobial peptides as potential therapeutics by analysing their structural, physico-chemical, immunological and binding properties against the SARS-CoV-2 replisome complex proteins. Peptides derived from these proteins were checked for the required properties like allergenicity, anti-inflammatory, anti-haemolytic and anti-cancer property, and cell penetration activities using in silico methods. 14 peptides selected based on their immunologic properties were analysed individually and docked with two of the virus proteins, NSP8 and NSP12. Each peptide-protein docked complex was seen to involve the same amino acid residues which are important for replisome complex formation. The complexes formed were found to be highly stable both structurally and energetically based on their binding energy calculation. Thus in this study we propose the use of all 14 peptides as a cocktail which may lead to a decrease in viral disease progression by inhibiting the replisome complex formation. This study may pave the way for development of novel therapeutics utilizing the antimicrobial peptides in near future to combat virus infection.