
Although androgen in gender disparity of COVID-19 has been implied, no direct link has been provided. Here, we applied AlphaFold multimer, network and single cells database analyses to highlight specificity of Androgen receptor (AR) against spike receptor binding protein (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. LXXL motifs in spike RBD are essential for AR binding. RBD LXXA mutation complex with the AR depicting slightly reduced binding energy, as LXXLL motif usually mediates nuclear receptor binding to coregulators. Moreover, AR preferred to bind a LYRL motif in specificity and interaction interface, and showed reduced affinity against Omicron compared to other variants (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta). Importantly, RBD LYRL motif is a conserved antigenic epitope (9 residues) for T-cell response. Network analysis of AR-related genes against COVID-19 database showed T-cell signaling regulation, and CD8+ T-cell spatial location in AR+ single cells, which is consistent with the AR binding motif LYRL in epitope function. We provided the potent mechanisms of AR binding to RBD linking to immune response and vaccination shift. AR could be an anti-infective therapy target for anti-Omicron new lineages.
Regulatory T Cell Development and Function, Cell biology, Immunology, Coronavirus Disease 2019 Research, FOS: Health sciences, Epitopes, Surveys and Questionnaires, antibody, Health Sciences, Genetics, Humans, Biology, Cancer, Immunology and Microbiology, Prostate cancer, SARS-CoV-2, FOS: Clinical medicine, COVID-19, Life Sciences, T cell, CD8, Androgen receptor, Infectious Diseases, Immune system, Receptors, Androgen, Antigen, FOS: Biological sciences, Medicine, Epitope, Protein Binding, Natural Killer Cells in Immunity, Receptor
Regulatory T Cell Development and Function, Cell biology, Immunology, Coronavirus Disease 2019 Research, FOS: Health sciences, Epitopes, Surveys and Questionnaires, antibody, Health Sciences, Genetics, Humans, Biology, Cancer, Immunology and Microbiology, Prostate cancer, SARS-CoV-2, FOS: Clinical medicine, COVID-19, Life Sciences, T cell, CD8, Androgen receptor, Infectious Diseases, Immune system, Receptors, Androgen, Antigen, FOS: Biological sciences, Medicine, Epitope, Protein Binding, Natural Killer Cells in Immunity, Receptor
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| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
