MHU Professor Publishes Coronavirus Research

Faculty Focus

by Teresa Buckner, Director of Publications

Researchers worldwide are currently engaged in a The structure and replication process of SARS-CoV-2 race against time with life and death implications is similar in some respects to SARS-CoV, the virus for many of the world’s people. Their aim is to which emerged in in Asia in 2003 and caused severe defeat or at least stem the tide against a tiny but acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The same powerful enemy, SARS-CoV-2, the virus which protein, he said, enables both viruses to reproduce. causes COVID-19. Griffin said he used a branch of mathematics called Jeddidiah W.D. Griffin, graph theory to identify the assistant professor of biology parts of the protein which at Mars Hill University, has maintain the network of joined that fight with research amino acid interactions which he hopes will provide a which, in turn, may keep the starting point for researchers protein molecule working. who are developing drug The goal of the research was therapies against the virus. to investigate how networks Griffin’s research investigates in working proteins differ the structure of SARS-CoV-2. from inhibited proteins. His paper, titled “SARS- “Imagine crumpling up a strip CoV and SARS-CoV-2 main of paper. In the crumpled protease residue interaction paper, some parts of the strip networks change when bound will touch other parts of the to inhibitor N3,” was recently strip, forming a network of published in the Journal of interactions,” Griffin said. Structural Biology (published “This is like a string of amino online July 2020). According to acid residues that fold up Griffin, the complicated name into a protein. In my research, of the research article belies a I use computers to make relatively simple concept: to sense of the connections identify how the structure of within a protein, much like the enzyme which enables the drawing a map of all the COVID-19 virus to reproduce Dr. Jedd Griffin connections within the changes when inhibited. imagined crumpled strip of That concept, then, becomes paper.” the building block for treatments against the Griffin’s research conclusions identified several disease. “residue network clusters” in the protein which “SARS-CoV-2 uses a protein called the main protease may disrupt the protein connections if changed. to complete building new viruses inside cells,” Other researchers then, may use those vulnerable Griffin said. “If the main protease can be inhibited connections as a starting point in the development by an antiviral drug, it may prevent SARS-CoV-2 of therapeutic drugs which target the virus. from replicating. This is why the structure of the main protease is the focus of my research.”