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Boswell Z, Verga JU, Mackle J, Guerrero-Vazquez K, Thomas OP, Cray J, Wolf BJ, Choo YM, Croot P, Hamann MT, Hardiman G. In-Silico Approaches for the Screening and Discovery of Broad-Spectrum Marine Natural Product Antiviral Agents Against Coronaviruses. Infect Drug Resist 2023; 16:2321-2338. [PMID: 37155475 PMCID: PMC10122865 DOI: 10.2147/idr.s395203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The urgent need for SARS-CoV-2 controls has led to a reassessment of approaches to identify and develop natural product inhibitors of zoonotic, highly virulent, and rapidly emerging viruses. There are yet no clinically approved broad-spectrum antivirals available for beta-coronaviruses. Discovery pipelines for pan-virus medications against a broad range of betacoronaviruses are therefore a priority. A variety of marine natural product (MNP) small molecules have shown inhibitory activity against viral species. Access to large data caches of small molecule structural information is vital to finding new pharmaceuticals. Increasingly, molecular docking simulations are being used to narrow the space of possibilities and generate drug leads. Combining in-silico methods, augmented by metaheuristic optimization and machine learning (ML) allows the generation of hits from within a virtual MNP library to narrow screens for novel targets against coronaviruses. In this review article, we explore current insights and techniques that can be leveraged to generate broad-spectrum antivirals against betacoronaviruses using in-silico optimization and ML. ML approaches are capable of simultaneously evaluating different features for predicting inhibitory activity. Many also provide a semi-quantitative measure of feature relevance and can guide in selecting a subset of features relevant for inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Boswell
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Security, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Jacopo Umberto Verga
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Security, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- Genomic Data Science, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - James Mackle
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Security, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | | | - Olivier P Thomas
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91TK33Ireland
| | - James Cray
- Department of Biomedical Education and Anatomy, College of Medicine and Division of Biosciences, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Bethany J Wolf
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Yeun-Mun Choo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Peter Croot
- Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geoscience, Earth and Ocean Sciences and Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Mark T Hamann
- Departments of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Gary Hardiman
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Security, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
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Firouzi R, Ashouri M. Identification of Potential Anti‐COVID‐19 Drug Leads from Medicinal Plants through Virtual High‐Throughput Screening. ChemistrySelect 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.202203865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rohoullah Firouzi
- Department of Physical Chemistry Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran Tehran Iran
| | - Mitra Ashouri
- Department of Physical Chemistry School of Chemistry College of Science University of Tehran Tehran Iran
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Ali Dahhas M, M Alkahtani H, Malik A, Almehizia AA, Bakheit AH, Akber Ansar S, AlAbdulkarim AS, S Alrasheed L, Alsenaidy MA. Screening and identification of potential MERS-CoV papain-like protease (PLpro) inhibitors; Steady-state kinetic and Molecular dynamic studies. Saudi Pharm J 2023; 31:228-244. [PMID: 36540698 PMCID: PMC9756750 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
MERS-CoV belongs to the coronavirus group. Recent years have seen a rash of coronavirus epidemics. In June 2012, MERS-CoV was discovered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with 2,591 MERSA cases confirmed by lab tests by the end of August 2022 and 894 deaths at a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of 34.5% documented worldwide. Saudi Arabia reported the majority of these cases, with 2,184 cases and 813 deaths (CFR: 37.2%), necessitating a thorough understanding of the molecular machinery of MERS-CoV. To develop antiviral medicines, illustrative investigation of the protein in coronavirus subunits are required to increase our understanding of the subject. In this study, recombinant expression and purification of MERS-CoV (PLpro), a primary goal for the development of 22 new inhibitors, were completed using a high throughput screening methodology that employed fragment-based libraries in conjunction with structure-based virtual screening. Compounds 2, 7, and 20, showed significant biological activity. Moreover, a docking analysis revealed that the three compounds had favorable binding mood and binding free energy. Molecular dynamic simulation demonstrated the stability of compound 2 (2-((Benzimidazol-2-yl) thio)-1-arylethan-1-ones) the strongest inhibitory activity against the PLpro enzyme. In addition, disubstitutions at the meta and para locations are the only substitutions that may boost the inhibitory action against PLpro. Compound 2 was chosen as a MERS-CoV PLpro inhibitor after passing absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion studies; however, further investigations are required.
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Key Words
- 3CLpro, 3-Chymotrypsin -like Protease
- ADMET, Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity
- CFR, Case fatality rate
- DTT, Dithiothreitol
- Drug Design
- Drug Discovery
- E. coli, Escherichia coli
- EDTA, Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
- HCoV-, Human Coronavirus
- HIA, Human intestinal absorption
- His-tag, Histidine tag
- IPTG, Isopropyl b-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside
- Inhibitors
- Kan, Kanamicyn
- LB, Luria–Bertani
- MD, Molecular dynamic
- MERS-CoV PLpro Inhibitors
- MOE, Molecular Operating Environment
- MPLpro, MERS papain-like protease
- Molecular Docking
- Molecular dynamic simulation
- Ni-NTA, Nickel-nitrilotri
- Nonstructural proteins
- PLIF, Protein- ligand interaction fingerprint
- Papain-like protease
- Protease
- RMSD, Root Mean Square Deviation
- RMSF, Root Mean Square Fluctuation
- pp1a, Polyprotein 1a
- pp1b, Polyprotein 1b
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Ali Dahhas
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hamad M Alkahtani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department Chairman, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ajamaluddin Malik
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University. King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Ahmed H Bakheit
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department Chairman, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Siddique Akber Ansar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department Chairman, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah S AlAbdulkarim
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Lamees S Alrasheed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department Chairman, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad A Alsenaidy
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Sharma G, Song LF, Merz KM. Effect of an Inhibitor on the ACE2-Receptor-Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6574-6585. [PMID: 35118864 PMCID: PMC8848506 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 infection started in Wuhan, China, and spread across China and beyond. Since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic (March 11, 2020), three vaccines and only one antiviral drug (remdesivir) have been approved (Oct 22, 2020) by the FDA. The coronavirus enters human epithelial cells by the binding of the densely glycosylated fusion spike protein (S protein) to a receptor (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, ACE2) on the host cell surface. Therefore, inhibiting the viral entry is a promising treatment pathway for preventing or ameliorating the effects of COVID-19 infection. In the current work, we have used all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the influence of the MLN-4760 inhibitor on the conformational properties of ACE2 and its interaction with the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. We have found that the presence of an inhibitor tends to completely/partially open the ACE2 receptor where the two subdomains (I and II) move away from each other, while the absence results in partial or complete closure. The current study increases our understanding of ACE inhibition by MLN-4760 and how it modulates the conformational properties of ACE2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Lin Frank Song
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Kenneth M. Merz
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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Progress on COVID-19 Chemotherapeutics Discovery and Novel Technology. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27238257. [PMID: 36500347 PMCID: PMC9736643 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel highly contagious and pathogenic coronavirus that emerged in late 2019. SARS-CoV-2 spreads primarily through virus-containing droplets and small particles of air pollution, which greatly increases the risk of inhaling these virus particles when people are in close proximity. COVID-19 is spreading across the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to human health and public safety. To date, there are no specific vaccines or effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2. In this review, we focus on the enzyme targets of the virus and host that may be critical for the discovery of chemical compounds and natural products as antiviral drugs, and describe the development of potential antiviral drugs in the preclinical and clinical stages. At the same time, we summarize novel emerging technologies applied to the research on new drug development and the pathological mechanisms of COVID-19.
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DrugDevCovid19: An Atlas of Anti-COVID-19 Compounds Derived by Computer-Aided Drug Design. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27030683. [PMID: 35163948 PMCID: PMC8838031 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27030683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, numerous compounds against COVID-19 have been derived by computer-aided drug design (CADD) studies. They are valuable resources for the development of COVID-19 therapeutics. In this work, we reviewed these studies and analyzed 779 compounds against 16 target proteins from 181 CADD publications. We performed unified docking simulations and neck-to-neck comparison with the solved co-crystal structures. We computed their chemical features and classified these compounds, aiming to provide insights for subsequent drug design. Through detailed analyses, we recommended a batch of compounds that are worth further study. Moreover, we organized all the abundant data and constructed a freely available database, DrugDevCovid19, to facilitate the development of COVID-19 therapeutics.
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Razali R, Asis H, Budiman C. Structure-Function Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Proteases and Their Potential Inhibitors from Microbial Sources. Microorganisms 2021; 9:2481. [PMID: 34946083 PMCID: PMC8706127 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is considered the greatest challenge to the global health community of the century as it continues to expand. This has prompted immediate urgency to discover promising drug targets for the treatment of COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 viral proteases, 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) and papain-like cysteine protease (PLpro), have become the promising target to study due to their essential functions in spreading the virus by RNA transcription, translation, protein synthesis, processing and modification, virus replication, and infection of the host. As such, understanding of the structure and function of these two proteases is unavoidable as platforms for the development of inhibitors targeting this protein which further arrest the infection and spread of the virus. While the abundance of reports on the screening of natural compounds such as SARS-CoV-2 proteases inhibitors are available, the microorganisms-based compounds (peptides and non-peptides) remain less studied. Indeed, microorganisms-based compounds are also one of the potent antiviral candidates against COVID-19. Microbes, especially bacteria and fungi, are other resources to produce new drugs as well as nucleosides, nucleotides, and nucleic acids. Thus, we have compiled various reported literature in detail on the structures, functions of the SARS-CoV-2 proteases, and potential inhibitors from microbial sources as assistance to other researchers working with COVID-19. The compounds are also compared to HIV protease inhibitors which suggested the microorganisms-based compounds are advantageous as SARS-CoV2 proteases inhibitors. The information should serve as a platform for further development of COVID-19 drug design strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Cahyo Budiman
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia; (R.R.); (H.A.)
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Hanna GS, Choo YM, Harbit R, Paeth H, Wilde S, Mackle J, Verga JU, Wolf BJ, Thomas OP, Croot P, Cray J, Thomas C, Li LZ, Hardiman G, Hu JF, Wang X, Patel D, Schinazi RF, O’Keefe BR, Hamann MT. Contemporary Approaches to the Discovery and Development of Broad-Spectrum Natural Product Prototypes for the Control of Coronaviruses. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2021; 84:3001-3007. [PMID: 34677966 PMCID: PMC8547502 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The pressing need for SARS-CoV-2 controls has led to a reassessment of strategies to identify and develop natural product inhibitors of zoonotic, highly virulent, and rapidly emerging viruses. This review article addresses how contemporary approaches involving computational chemistry, natural product (NP) and protein databases, and mass spectrometry (MS) derived target-ligand interaction analysis can be utilized to expedite the interrogation of NP structures while minimizing the time and expense of extraction, purification, and screening in BioSafety Laboratories (BSL)3 laboratories. The unparalleled structural diversity and complexity of NPs is an extraordinary resource for the discovery and development of broad-spectrum inhibitors of viral genera, including Betacoronavirus, which contains MERS, SARS, SARS-CoV-2, and the common cold. There are two key technological advances that have created unique opportunities for the identification of NP prototypes with greater efficiency: (1) the application of structural databases for NPs and target proteins and (2) the application of modern MS techniques to assess protein-ligand interactions directly from NP extracts. These approaches, developed over years, now allow for the identification and isolation of unique antiviral ligands without the immediate need for BSL3 facilities. Overall, the goal is to improve the success rate of NP-based screening by focusing resources on source materials with a higher likelihood of success, while simultaneously providing opportunities for the discovery of novel ligands to selectively target proteins involved in viral infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- George S. Hanna
- Departments of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
| | - Yeun-Mun Choo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Ryan Harbit
- College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
| | - Heather Paeth
- Departments of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
| | - Sarah Wilde
- Department of Biology, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29631, United States
| | - James Mackle
- School of Biological Sciences & Institute for Global Food Security, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Jacopo-Umberto Verga
- School of Biological Sciences & Institute for Global Food Security, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Bethany J. Wolf
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
| | - Olivier P. Thomas
- Marine Biodiscovery, School of Chemistry and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway H91Tk33, Ireland
| | - Peter Croot
- Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geoscience, Earth and Ocean Sciences and Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - James Cray
- Department of Biomedical Education and Anatomy, College of Medicine and Division of Biosciences, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Courtney Thomas
- Department of Chemistry, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States
| | - Ling-Zhi Li
- School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University/SPU, Shenyang, China
| | - Gary Hardiman
- School of Biological Sciences & Institute for Global Food Security, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Jin-Feng Hu
- School of Advanced Study, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Zhejiang 318000, China
| | - Xiaojuan Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Dharmeshkhumar Patel
- Department of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Raymond F. Schinazi
- Department of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Barry R. O’Keefe
- Molecular Targets Program, Center for Cancer Research, Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Mark T. Hamann
- Departments of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
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Li Q, Kang C. Progress in Developing Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3C-Like Protease. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1250. [PMID: 32824639 PMCID: PMC7463875 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8081250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The viral outbreak started in late 2019 and rapidly became a serious health threat to the global population. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Several therapeutic options have been adopted to prevent the spread of the virus. Although vaccines have been developed, antivirals are still needed to combat the infection of this virus. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus, and its genome encodes polyproteins that can be processed into structural and nonstructural proteins. Maturation of viral proteins requires cleavages by proteases. Therefore, the main protease (3 chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) or Mpro) encoded by the viral genome is an attractive drug target because it plays an important role in cleaving viral polyproteins into functional proteins. Inhibiting this enzyme is an efficient strategy to block viral replication. Structural studies provide valuable insight into the function of this protease and structural basis for rational inhibitor design. In this review, we describe structural studies on the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. The strategies applied in developing inhibitors of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 and currently available protein inhibitors are summarized. Due to the availability of high-resolution structures, structure-guided drug design will play an important role in developing antivirals. The availability of high-resolution structures, potent peptidic inhibitors, and diverse compound scaffolds indicate the feasibility of developing potent protease inhibitors as antivirals for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingxin Li
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Biomass High Value Utilization, Institute of Bioengineering, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510316, China
| | - CongBao Kang
- Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 10 Biopolis Road, Chromos, #05-01, Singapore 138670, Singapore
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