Yes, though zinc is part of the virus evolution as we have seen, continuing the metal trajectory is worthwhile.
On the penultimate day and the day that Fau Chi published his paper on influenza, the ill copper miners were being admitted to the hospital at Kunming. SARS-CoV-2’s closest relative would be found in that copper mine. Strangely enough, copper links to influenza virus:
Influenza M2 Ion Channel
The influenza A virus M2 integral membrane protein is an ion channel that permits protons to enter virus particles during uncoating of virions in endosomes, and it also modulates the pH of the trans-Golgi network in virus-infected cells. M2 protein is a homo-oligomer of 97 residues with a single...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
‘....during the uncoating of virions in endosomes....using the catalyst Cu(II)....heptad repeat’
There are also heptad repeats on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Again another copper connection to heptad repeats are found in human potassium ion channel, KCa 3.1:
The ‘a’ position means the first amino acid in the heptad sequence:
KCa 3.1. / Copper / Heptad Repeat
KCa3.1 (also known as SK4 or IK1) is a mammalian intermediate-conductance potassium channel that plays a critical role in the activation of T cells, B cells, and mast cells, effluxing potassium ions to maintain a negative membrane potential for influxing calcium ions. KCa3.1 shares primary...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
’....His389, in an ‘a’ position within the heptad repeat are observed to bind a copper ion along the four-fold axis of the bundle.’
An interesting paper from Ann Arbor, Michigan, links both copper and zinc, and note how the copper cancels zinc catalyzation:
Sep 2020 Heptad Repeats / Zinc / Copper
While many life-critical reactions would be infeasibly slow without metal cofactors, a detailed understanding of how protein structure can influence catalytic activity remains elusive. Using de novo designed three-stranded coiled coils (TRI and Grand peptides formed using a heptad repeat...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
’....ablation of zinc-catalyzed carbonic anhydrase....’
We have studied the heptad repeats of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and RaTG13, SARS-CoV-2’s closest relative and noted that one linking strategy of these viruses is to (manipulate branched-chain amino acids [italics]) in their spike protein sequences. Thus, most intriguing, and coming full-circle back to Fau Chi’s NIH is this study (which does not mention copper), does mention branched-chain amino acids:
NIH Lipo-COVID Study: 1.) Johns Hopkins 2.) Lipoprotein Metabolism Section, Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Md.
A complex interplay exists between plasma lipoproteins and inflammation, as evidenced from studies on atherosclerosis. Alterations in plasma lipoprotein levels in the context of infectious diseases, particularly respiratory viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2, have become of great interest in...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
’....Moreover, patients with severe COVID-19 were found to have remarkably elevated GlycA levels, and elevated levels of branched-chain amino acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate. Patients with severe COVID-19 have been reported to have low levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol, but elevated levels of triglycerides.’
This copper connection to the Tongguan copper mine and bats in Mojiang, may play important roles in Influenza and SARS-CoV-like virus evolution, whereby the virus gains an advantage using metalloenzymes, to increase affinity to human ACE2 receptors in the lungs.