Functional Characterisation and Structural Modeling of NS2a (Non-Structural Protein 2a) Protein from Human Coronavirus using Computational approach

Coronaviruses are virus belonging to the subfamily Coronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae, in the order Nidovirales. Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses which have a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome with a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. Coronaviruses commonly infect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tractof mammals and birds. There are six different strains currently known of coronaviruses that infect humans. The much familiar human coronavirus is SARS-CoV which causes Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections. A significant percentage of all common colds in human adultsis believed to be caused by this virus. Coronaviruses cause colds in humans primarily in the winter and early spring seasons. Unlike rhinoviruses (another common cold virus), human coronaviruses are difficult to grow in the laboratory therefore, significance and economic impact of coronaviruses as causative agents of the common cold are hard to assess. Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or a secondary bacterial pneumonia, and bronchitis, either direct viral bronchitis or a secondary bacterial bronchitis. In this study we modelled a non-structural protein (NS2a) of the virus and tried to do various functional analysis of this protein which may be responsible for the diseases. This study in future may be helpful in designing drug against this protein and also predict the potential targets against this protein.