Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42872126›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in chemistry2026

Human β defensin type 2 based novel antimicrobial peptide prediction using both molecular dynamics simulation and artificial intelligence methods.

Ishrat Jahan, Hailemicael Lulseged Yimer, Kushal Badal, Michaela Brady, Jason J Guo, Bryce Richardson, Letu Qingge, Liqun Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in chemistry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Ishrat JahanChemical Engineering Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States.
Hailemicael Lulseged YimerDepartment of Computer Science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC, United States.
Kushal BadalDepartment of Computer Science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC, United States.
Michaela BradyChemical Engineering Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States.
Jason J GuoDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Barnett Institute for Chemical and Biological Analysis, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.
Bryce RichardsonChemical Engineering Department, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, United States.
Letu QinggeDepartment of Computer Science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC, United States.
Liqun ZhangChemical Engineering Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States.

Funding

Genomic Research and Data Science Center for Computation and Cloud-ComputingU24HG013013 · NHGRI · NORTH CAROLINA AGRI & TECH ST UNIV · PI CHRISTOPHER C DOSS, Joseph L Graves · 2023 to 2026
$6.0M
NHGRI NIH HHS U24 HG013013
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The global health crisis triggered by SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the urgent need for effective treatments. Although several anti-viral drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 have been developed, there remains considerable interest in exploring natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) secreted by the human innate immune system as alternative therapeutic agents. Human β defensin type 2 (hBD-2) has been found to bind to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 and block the virus entry. In order to design effective anti-virial drugs based on hBD-2, 32 block-mutants (mutation at more than one site simultaneously) were designed, and their interaction with RBD were predicted in terms of structural stability and binding energy. In combination with data from a total of 247 hBD-2 point-mutants reported in our previous work, artificial intelligence (AI) models were trained to design more efficient hBD-2 variants. With that, advanced AI approaches, including convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models were employed to predict hBD-2 mutant sequences with potentially enhanced binding affinity with RBD compared with the wildtype peptide. Based on the predicted sequences, the AlphaFold program was applied to predict the structures of AMPs, and then all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to calculate the binding interaction energies between each hBD-2-based AMP and the RBD as a measure of binding affinity. Structural stability was also evaluated through analyses of Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD), Root Mean Squared Fluctuation (RMSF), the number of hydrogen bonds formed, and buried surface area. The results indicate that several AMPs exhibited more stable binding with RBD than the wildtype, highlighting their potential as novel hBD-2-derived antiviral candidates against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, based on the obtained results, the LSTM model demonstrated greater effectiveness than the CNN model in designing novel hBD-2-based anti-virial drugs against CoV-2.

Indexed as

AI modelingbindinghuman beta defensin 2molecular dynamics simulationsRBDSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID42872126
PMCPMC13660420

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.